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AN 



ABRlDGxMENT AND REVIEW 



OF EACH CHAPTER OT THE 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT: 



WITH QUOTATIONS FROM THE DOUAY BIBLE AND SOME 
EMINENT WRITERS. 



BY 



HENRY ALDWOETH, 



WILLIAMSBURG, L. L 



NEW YORK: 
PRINTED JOR, AND PUBLISHED BY, THE AUTHOR. 



1847, 



jk 



PREFACE. 



This work will consist of extracts from each chapter of both 
Bible and Testament, with comments on them, in the same order 
as the chapters are embodied in those books ; the indecent pas- 
sages will not be inserted in the review. 

Some pages of extracts from state geological surveys, giving 
accounts of modern discoveries, showing that the earth has existed 
an incalculable length of time ; also some remarks on the writings 
of Josephus ; and extracts from the Apocrypha, with comments on 
them ; and several pages on the operations of the elements and 
processes of nature, will form an appendix at the end of the work. 

The author of this work, having had a large portion of his boy- 
hood occupied in reading the Bible and Testament, and learned 
by heart catechism extracted from those books, together with 
hymns and psalms of the same kind of composition, has from 
that time to the present, being more than half a century, felt mor- 
tification at having been thus retarded in obtaining useful informa- 
tion ; and after carefully examining, finding them to be much 
worse than my first impressions led me to consider them, my 
opinion has become confirmed ! that the sooner they are abandoned 
from use as a book of instruction, or to be introduced in schools or 
among children, the sooner will children be enabled to obtain the 
instruction necessary to carry them through the management of 
the various concerns of life, with comfort, credit, and respect ; for 
if they are taught all the best modes of instruction their seniors 
know to be useful, instead of lumbering and confusing their minds 
with much that is merely imaginary ! and which the teachers them- 
selves never knew, or never can know, the reality of, and which, 
when enforced on the mind by bold declarations, contained in the 
New Testament, of the two greatest extremes that the greatest op- 
pressors of mankind could picture forth to the imagination — the 



4 PREFACE. 

one of everlasting happiness, the other of everlasting burning, of 
an invisible soul, which the visible body can never find to control! 
Yet, inconsistent as the fable is, it has intimidated thousands of 
inoffensive persons, who beyond doubt would have been harmless 
without being thus held in unnecessary dread, and in many in- 
stances would have been probably more happy, more active, and 
more useful to themselves and those dependent on them ; as a sad? 
melancholy proof, the lunatic asylums in most countries show this 
to be the case, many of their inmates having been driven to in- 
sanity from meditating and puzzling their minds with doubts as to 
which of the two extremes should be their everlasting doom ; and 
as teachers who had caused them to imagine they should inevita- 
bly be doomed to perpetual burning or bliss, and no superior 
power ever appearing to them to assure them they should be 
among the happy few, of course, since their minds had been so 
weak as to be terrified with such unreasonable fables, but slender I 
must be the chance that they will ever to a state of reason advance ! 
as the only hope laid down in the fable is, that they must believe 
that ! which but few are able to, from its inconsistency, if they read 
it through ! 

This review will show that the Bible preface has, from the first 
introduction of that book, contained an acknowledgment that Queen 
Elizabeth, of England, wrote the w^ork, and that the first King 
James, of England, her successor to the throne, had it published, 
and maintained the teachers of it; and that those who introduce 
the Bible to the king, after it was printed and put in book form, 
dedicate it to him, and style him its principal mover and author ! 
But as these self-styled translators, in the same document, also 
praise the king for coming forward with the confidence and resolu- 
tion of a man and publishing the work his predecessor had left, it 
plainly appears King James was only the author of its publication 
and propagation. But it can not be of any importance where the 
Bible was first written, or by whom wrote, as its contents plainly 
show it to be fiction. The person chosen by the self-styled trans- 
lators to address the king, on the occasion of dedicating the book 
to him, evidently appears to have been a blacksmith, as he tells 
the king, some men give liking unto nothing but what is hammered 
on their own anvil ! which strongly indicates that this chosen or 
most learned man, among the self-styled translators, must have 
'^owned an anvil and worked and hammered on it, as no other class 



PREFACE. 5 

of men would have been likely to have made use of such an ex- 
pression, particularly to a dread sovereign and sacred majesty, as 
the king is styled in the address that constitutes the preface of the 
Bible. In which document the pretended translators have recorded, 
to their disgrace, that they were contriving to palm a wild fable on 
their fellow-beings as sacred and holy, which is plain to be seen 
as soon as the smith begins his flattery and falsehood ; for he tells 
the simple king, It was a great blessing to the people of England 
when Almighty God sent his majesty's royal person to rule over 
them, and that the people behold him with joy, and bless him in 
their hearts, as the true cause of their happiness. This, of course, 
as learned shrewds, they could not have beheved, that a nation 
of people should have been so fond of a monarch who enforced 
them to submit to toil early and late to keep up his great state, and 
also to support an extravagant host of attendants, and a numerous 
army to enforce obedience to such unjust extortions, without being 
allowed to choose who should rule and reign over them ! The 
self-styled translators, in their pretence of the manuscript being 
translated, insinuate that it was translated from other foreign lan- 
guages and sacred tongues, which, like most attempts at deception, 
exposes the sentence as a false pretence ; for where translations 
are effected, they are made from the one language in which the 
original is detected : and one minute's reflection must convince the 
reader who strives to be guided by reason, that not one of the self- 
styled translators ever read the work the queen left until it was 
printed, or they would not have praised it so highly ; for most as- 
suredly, every one who expected to reap reward by preaching it 
would have omitted many of the rude and obscene passages which 
have ever been embodied in it. Common natural sense would 
have dictated this to have been necessary, in order to ensure respect 
for its contents when a period like the present should arrive, wherein 
most children are taught to read, affording them opportunity of ex- 
amining the work that Queen Elizabeth left, and judging for them- 
selves whether it appears to be the word or work of a superior power 
to man, or whether it does not appear more like the wild imagin- 
ings of a female reigning monarch, living in idleness and addicted 
to levity and licentiousness. But when the Bible was first intro- 
duced, the famous council of Trent, who mostly officiated to get 
it propagated, publicly declared it was contrary to the precepts of 
ihe church that people in general should read the Bible, and also 



6 PREFACE. 

passed a decree, that it should only be read by persons lawfully or- 
dained, or otherwise under instructions of pastors and spiritual 
guides ! Thus have they recorded proof, that they, as well as the 
pretended translators, had discerned, at the first introduction of the 
Bible, that its contents were too absurdly inconsistent to gain re- 
spect, if they were generally known ; which acknowledgment is to 
be found in the catholic bible yet in use. In some editions is 
also a confession that Jesus is a fabled character, as in this book 
it is stated — able chronologists vary in their statements of his birth 
3,244 years. R. Nahasson advances it to 3,740, and K. Alphon- 
sus postpones it to the year of the world 6,984, while Peznon 
places the death of Jesus Christ A. M. 6,000. And the books of 
the Bible, it is stated, written by Divine inspiration by the authors 
whose names they bear, or by others ! were composed, according 
to a certain man ! by the name of Calmut, some years before or 
after the birth of Jesus Christ ! But it, among these confused, 
contradictory statements, acknowledges that certainty can not be 
obtained with respect to either the birth or death of Jesus. This 
Bible plainly appears to have been compiled from the work Queen 
Elizabeth left, which her successor had published, only varying in 
a few words in most of the chapters (generally at the beginning 
and in their captions), the meaning of most of the stories being 
generally the same in both bibles. The catholic bible has an addi- 
tion of the two books of Maccabees from the Apocrypha, which 
were considered objectionable at the time the Queen's writings 
were scanned over to be compiled in book form, and given to the 
printer, who, beyond reasonable dispute, must have been left to 
puzzle out the queen's manuscript a letter at a time; and it could 
be of no consequence to him whether, it contained reason or rhyme, 
so long as he was paid for his time. 

The Apocrypha appears to have been composed by the same 
wild imagining person who composed the Bible and Testament, 
as it is similar composition to the most inconsistent parts of those 
books. 

The numerous statements of reigns of fabulous kings, ruling na- 
tions with more tyranny and greater cruelty than the reigning mon- 
archs of the age when the Bible was written, and that their families 
and governments were supported in greater luxuries and extrava- 
gances, appears to be the principal theme of the Bible, apparendy 
for the purpose of striving to make the composer's subjects believe 



PREFACE. 7 

they were treated more kindly by those in power over them than 
their ancestors had been by ancient kings. And as no doctrine of 
future life, or of rewards and punishments, after people had ceased 
to breathe, is embodied in the Bible, nor any pretence set forth 
that bodies of flesh, bones, and sinews, had an invisible, immortal 
appendage belonging to them, that the visible body could not con- 
trol, denominated a soul. The fables in the New Testament, un- 
der the tides of apostles, commencing under the hero of St. Mat- 
thew, in its first chapter, contains the first foundation of the doctrine 
of future life, in the story of the fabled Virgin Mary bringing forth a 
son by means miraculously contrary to her other children, and to the 
children of all other women ; and, in finishing the story, the com- 
poser assumes to know more about the mutual transactions of man 
and wife than any sober person would pretend to, as she has also 
done respecting her first pretended couple, and their son Cain and 
his wife, and many other husbands and wives ; which boldness she 
has been guilty of throughout both Bible and Testament. And 
many other rude indecencies are also embodied in various parts 
of the work, which will be noted in the chapters that contain them, 
without being transcribed into the review. 

The ten different titles that are bestowed on a supposed Deity 
does not stagger bold professors' belief, although varied much in 
assumed consequence, some being single, some double, others 
triple. Neither do the numerous contradictory traits of character 
that it is stated to be composed of, such as being so mighty and 
skilful as to make the universal assemblage of all things that are 
known in six days, and an incredible immensity that has not been 
found to exist. Yet all is right enough with those who advocate 
the Bible and Testament as being divinely inspired, particularly 
with those that have interested motives of a pecuniary nature in 
view, connected with professions of faith and belief; and it is 
plain to be seen — 



That in the course of human events, 

The book termed holy is filled with ill-design 'd contents, 

And-that it hath been palm'd on mankind, 

Expressly their senses and reasons to blind, 

And to persuade them that priests and kings 

Were such sacred and holy things, 

That they must be sumptuously fed every day, 

And be decked in rich and gaudy array. 



8 PREFACE. 

And also be highly elevated and ador'd, 

While people were by them to servitude lower'd. 

Yet notwithstanding this book's inconsistency and contradiction^ 

Manifestly prove it blundering fiction, 

Paid preachers keep it in some respect ! 

By forming their sermons from selected texts, 

When the parts of those chapters before the texts after, 

Deserve nothing but ridicule and laughter. 

Yet thousands in their absurdities profess to have faith and belief^ 

Who often wrong their neighbors worse than a thief! 

And when they have got by deception all they can 

From many an unsuspecting neighboring man, 

Quit their present home and business location, 

Move to another town or different nation, 

And again show how cunning and witty 

They can live in ease by shamming sanctity. 

Thus have many professors of various creeds, 

Used religion as a cloak and mask for ill deeds. 

And while belief is advocated as a criterion of goodness, 

And a book praised as holy containing cruel command and rudeness, 

Not much sincerity can be reasonably expected 

From those who have its inconsistencies detected, 

And boldly advocate it as sacred and holy. 

To countenance such dogmas must be folly. 

But, to the honor of the legislators of the State of Michigan, be 
it known ! that they have the good sense shown, to pass an act, 
that no distinction shall be made in their courts with respect to 
belief or unbeUef in matters of religion ; thus allowing the honest 
and honorable person, who would scorn to pretend or to profess 
that they believed any unreasonable fable ! that their judgment 
convinced them was false ! to have equal privilege with the hyp- 
ocrite ! while in many courts, in other states, he would be set 
aside and his testimony objected to : which course of proceeding 
must have a tendency to cause some persons to act hypocritically, 
rather than be singled out in a crowded courtroom and set aside 
as unworthy of having their word respected. But kings, priests, 
judges, and other high functionaries, have been pictured in the 
work Queen Elizabeth left, as having great power over people ; 
so of course they think it all right that the public should for them 
both toil and fight, and be turned either to the right or left. And 
it can not be of any consequence where or when the Bible and 
Testament were written, or by whom or in what language they 
were written, as the contents of the work show it to be fiction. 
And after the book had been introduced as the word of the Lord, 



PREFACE. 9 

it would appear indecorous to alter a word ; and as its contents 
were not well known, until it was to its mover King James shown, 
the only plan by which to impose it on man as sacred and holy, was 
to enshroud it in mystery to hide its folly ; hence the necessity of 
the pretence that it was a translation from foreign languages and 
sacred tongues. And when it was printed in the language used in 
the country that both Elizabeth and James resided in its capital, 
and over which nation of people they reigned and ruled, then it 
could be translated from the original English language into one 
that but few understood, with date affixed anterior to all chronol- 
ogy! and from that again translated into English, in order to stop 
people from pronouncing the work fiction ! as no one could have 
known the fabulous characters treated of in the Bible as prophets, 
and as apostles in the New Testament. 

51 



REVIEW 



OP THE 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER I. 

The first verse of this chapter is a bold assumption of pretence 
in the composer of knowing that the earth was made, and of a 
beginning to time ! All have to be supported from the produce 
of the soil they live on, and only such beings can engender that 
are analogous to the substances that with the aid of the elements 
engender them. As all things are seen to serve each other, all are 
served, and all aid in serving others ; nothing is known to stand 
alone ; and it is plainly seen thus the chain of nature holds on, 
and that its end must ever be unknown. Nothing can be more 
vain and useless for man to contend about, or puzzle his mind 
with, than the supposition that there must have been a beginning to 
the earth, and the sun, moon, stars, seas, &c., when all that has 
been known about them gives the strongest reasons to believe they 
ever did and ever will exist ! and the more any person endeavors 
to form a different opinion, they inevitably must get the more dis- 
tracted in mind, unless they form an opinion that there must have 
been a beginning to the world, which they see is the abode of all 
living, without studying how such a beginning occurred, or in what 
manner the immense bulk of materials were formed, or collected, 
which constitute the universal assemblage of all things. But the 
composer of this first chapter of Genesis never showed any defi- 



12 REVIEW OF THE 

ciency of wild imagination, or boldness to declare her imaginings! 
as she assumes to know of much being made that has not yet been 
found, or known to exist; and, after having declared that the earth 
was created, declares it was void and without form ; which decla- 
ration denies the previous one, as nothing is known to exist without 
form, and no solid substance can be empty space or a void. The 
composer's unjustifiable boldness is also palpable in the assertion, 
that the spirit of a supposed invisible spirit moved on the face of the 
deep, and that it gave names to light, darkness, morning, evening, 
day, night, and said much more ; and that it saw much, and gave 
names to several things, before any man, woman, fish, or bird, ex- 
isted, or even the grammatical serpent, that the composer was wild 
enough in the third chapter to represent was talked to by this sup- 
posed spirit, and that it tempted the woman that is stated was made 
entirely of bone ! And the story in this chapter, that a firmament 
was set in the midst of the waters, to divide the waters that were 
above the firmament from those below the firmament, can not show 
anything more than that the composer, while writing this, must have 
supposed that large bodies of waters, like the seas in the hollows 
of the earth, were suspended above the clouds, from which all 
rains, snows, and hail, proceeded and descended. And the com- 
poser also exhibits bold assumption of knowing in this chapter that 
a spirit said, Let the earth bring forth grass, herbs, trees, and 
fruits, and in the next chapter records forgetful ness^ by stating that 
the same spirit made them before they were in the earth ! The 
composer also assumes to know, in the first chapter, that a spirit 
divided light from darkness : this, manifestly, is an attempt to con- 
fuse the mind of man with an inconsistent belief that light and 
darkness were once mixed, which statement is only on a par with 
the days being light and the nights dark before either sun, moon, 
or stars existed ; and that they were made on tbe fourth day of 
time. On the fifth day a spirit decreed that the waters should 
bring forth fowl abundantly, to fly above the earth ; which has not 
yet come to pass, and never can, as all beings that inhale the air 
have warm blood, while those that the waters bring forth have cold; 
and neither were ever organized to exist in both elements. The 
statement of a spirit creating whales, and telling them to be fruitful, 
conveys no credit to such a supposed spirit, as it represents it as 
being extremely silly, talking to fish that can not understand a word 
of human language, and can not retain life where it is spoken. The 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 13 

next Statement, of the pretended sixth day of time, must be dis- 
cerned by every unprejudiced observer as equally inconsistent as 
the preceding statements ! for the composer assumes to know that a 
spirit said, Let us make man in our image, and in our likeness ; 
thus showing that her whim of the moment was, that a company 
of creators had assembled, and that one proposed to the others to 
make man in all their images and in all their likenesses, while at 
the same time it must have been known that millions of human 
beings existed, all with different hkenesses ! The composer of the 
chapter has also ^stated that man and woman were created, and that 
the same unnecessary command was given them as is stated was 
given to fish ! telling both to be fruitful and multiply. The next 
verse contains a statement that provision was made for this couple. 
But in the next chapter a record is made of the composer's forget- 
fulness, by the statement that not a man was to be found, and that 
one was then made, before the woman, out of dust, and that a 
woman was made out of a rib taken from the man, while he was 
asleep, and the flesh closed up ; which story does make it appear 
as though mesmerism was fashionable at that period : and to add 
to the inconsistency of the statement, an invisible spirit is described 
as having brought the woman to the man, from whose side it is 
represented she was taken. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER II. 

The composer repeats what is stated in the first chapter, that 
the earth was made ! and shows that she thought it right to allow 
the manufacturer of it rest for one day, after having stated it had 
created so much on the six previous days ; and now states, that it 
made every plant of the field before it was in the earth ! and every 
herb before it grew ! plainly showing she had lost recollection of 
having stated in the first chapter that God had said let the earth 
bring them forth, and also declaring herself it was so ! thus exhib- 
iting a wild state of mind, while attempting to impose such fiction 
on her subjects as a mysterious truth! Next she states, no rain 
had fallen on the earth, but there went up a mist from it, and wa- 
tered its whole surface ! This evidently shows lack of reflection, 
as it is known that mist can not arise from perfectly dry substances. 
The composer adds further proof of her lack of sober thought, or 



14 REVIEW OF THE 

memory, by stating there was not a man to till the ground, and that 
one was now made out of dust, recording proof she had lost all 
recollection of her statement in the first chapter that both man and 
woman were created. Thus giving proof, in the commencement 
of her world-making fable, that she was inspired by stimulus to be 
bold, which prevented her from necessary recollection to hold, even 
through two adjoining chapters. She states the Lord God planted 
a garden, and in its midst a tree of life and knowledge, and that a 
river went out of it round a land that had good gold and precious 
stones ! which valuable articles the queen composer must have 
known more of than she could by any means have known of her 
fabled garden and tree, or the fabled maker of them on whom 
she bestows a pompous title ! The man that she has stated was 
just made out of dust is told, that on the day he eats of the tree of 
life he shall surely die ! This statement the composer does not 
carry out uniformly, for she allows the twice-formed man and wo- 
man both eat of the fruit, and lived several hundred years after ; 
which also contradicts another statement made in the said-to-be- 
holy Bible, that the Lord, who is in this chapter treated of as hav- 
ing threatened its twice-formed man with death, if he eat of the 
fabled tree, is immutable ! The Lord God, it is stated, brought 
every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, to the man it 
had just made out of dust, to see what he would call them ! Ac- 
cording to this fable, the man of dust need to have been such a 
conjurer as to have formed a language, and also to know the method 
and art of painting on each one's limb, body, or brow, a nama 
which the grammatical serpent would not dare disavow — in legible 
style, so that the former of them might see and read as it ran, or 
flew, or passed through the numerous crew, in any way that it 
chose to pursue ! And no chance is afforded for believers in the 
existence of such a spirit to set up claim that it enabled the man 
to form a letter of any one name ! for the fable represents that all 
the variety of beasts and birds were brought to the man (to see what 
he would call them) by the spirit that the composer strives to make 
her subjects believe she knew could perform impossibilities. Thus 
Adam is left to conjure out the whole difficulty, in the universal 
christening and marking the endless variety of names, without any 
kind of aid ! And after this the composer allows the man had a wife 
made for him out of one of his ribs ; and as she pretends this was 
the first and only miss on the earth ! the solitary man could not 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 15 

obtain any other wife but the one made of bone, which, if he did 
not accept, he must Hve alone. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER IH. 

The composer gives proof that she considered her subjects 
such deluded beings, that she could make them beHeve her wild 
fable that a serpent talked considerably in grammatical style, and 
that her fabled twice-formed man and woman heard the voice of 
the double-titled invisible spirit walking in the garden, and hid 
themselves, and that this spirit, which some say fills all space and 
knows all things, called out, "Adam, where art thou?" and that 
it asked Adam who told him he was naked, &c., and talked to the 
woman, and to the serpent, telling it that it should eat dust all its 
life ! But as snakes are only found in moist places, it must be 
difficult for any creature analogous to them to live on dust ! which 
well-known fact makes this fable appear as the production of dis- 
ordered imagination ; and the fable of a double-titled spirit telling 
the bone woman that it would greatly multiply her sorrows, after 
having stated this unkind spirit had formed the woman twice, can 
not be viewed by those who are guided by reason with as favor- 
able respect as many fictions that border on probability. The man 
of dust, it is stated, was so ill-fated as to be doomed to eat bread 
in the sweat of his face, until he return to the ground, which the 
composer states was cursed for his sake, because he did his wife's 
counsel take ; in which statement the composer makes it appear 
that the double-titled spirit sets the first example of cursing the 
ground of its own creating ! but after writing thus, appears to be 
inclined to attribute a trait of character somewhat kind to the same 
spirit, by her fable that it made coats of skin, and clothed its twice- 
formed couple with them ; according to this fable, the spirit would 
have been under the necessity of catching the animals and skin- 
ning them, to have the material to make such coats of. Shears, 
needles, and threads, need also to have been created, or made out 
of something that existed ! and the fable, to the minds of those who 
do suppose it true, takes all the merit from man of inventing the 
comfortable and convenient garment. But the composer has not 
been able to refrain fi-om showing by the contents of most parts of 
the work she left, called by some the Holy Bible, that she had a 



16 REVIEW OF THE 

general knowledge of visible realities, which knowledge is manifest- 
ly mixed through most of her pretences of knowing much, that no 
evidence of their existence has been obtained. In the next verse 
to the fable of the coats, the Lord is represented to declare itself 
jealous of the man in his new coat, telling its associates that the 
man had become as wise as they ! so he drove him out of the gar- 
den, and placed a sword to keep the tree of life, lest he should 
eat of it and live for ever ! Thus the composer showeth that 
swords were known in this early part of her fable of the world- 
making, and that the terms husband and wife were known at the 
time ; she represents the solitary man was but just then formed 
out of dust ! and his wife made out of one of his bones, that he 
should not be alone, when no other being that could speak existed 
but the man, woman, and serpent ! which grammatical thing could 
alone have been the one to have performed the marriage ceremony, 
and pronounced Adam and Eve man and wife ! according to the 
fable of this trio being the only conversing subjects in the universe. 



GENESIS; CHAPTER IV. \ 

The composer commences this with the same degree of bold- 
ness and levity that is freely made use of throughout both Bible , 
and Testament, and assumes to know more about man and wife 
than any decent sober person would pretend to ; and further states 
that the Lord had respect for the offerings of one of this couple's 
sons, but none for the other, thus representing the same spirit as 
partial and unjust, that in the same book is represented as being 
equitable and just, and full of mercy and loving kindness. It is 
also stated that one brother slew the other, and that the Lord 
inquired where the missing one was, which forms another proof 
of the composer's forgetfulness, as she assumes to know that the 
spirit was not under the necessity of inquiring on any occasion ! 
as it knew all things ! It is stated that the Lord and the mur- 
derer held converse together, and that the Lord set a mark on 
Cain, lest any one finding him should kill him ; in this statement, 
the composer records proof that she had forgotten her former 
statement that the only woman yet made was the wife of Adam ; 
consequently her writings make it appear there was none to find 
Cain but his parents, who would not be likely to kill him. . Next 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 17 

the composer states Cain got a wife, and assumes again respecting 
Cain and his marvellous wife, the same lewd boldness that she did 
respecting his parents before he had life. And also states that 
Cain's son, while he had but one ! built a city ; which manifestly 
shows, that the composer knew at the same time that cities had 
long since been erected, for no sober person could have expected 
that a boy without aid could have laid even a foundation ! Tubal 
Cain, it is stated, strove to make people with music elated, for he 
taught all his children to handle the harp and the organ ! and his 
brother instructed artificers in brass and iron. Thus the composer 
shows she was brazen enough to strive to make people believe that 
only Adam and Eve, one son, a few grandchildren, and their chil- 
dren, were alive when musical instruments of intricate construc- 
tion were in perfection, and the knowledge of working metals was 
communicated from one to others, and assumes again to know 
more about the transactions of man and wife than any sober per- 
son would pretend to. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER V. 

The composer states that God called the first man and woman's 
name Adam ! and as she had not allowed them any name in either 
of their former first appearances, as stated when they were cre- 
ated, she appears to think, better late than never, and allows them 
both the name of Adam ! consequently the fable accounts for a 
Mr. and Mrs. Adam. The composer states that Adam had a son 
born to him in his own image ; this, of course, can not be consid- 
ered an unnatural affair, as numerous sons in all ages have been 
seen to be the image of their fathers. Twenty-nine verses more 
of this chapter form a useless list of names, ^ated to have been 
those of men who had children, with a specified period of the 
years they lived both before and after their children were born, 
and the two periods added together are also stated, showing that 
the composer of the story was vain enough to imagine the general- 
ity of the people could not add the two and reckon for themselves, 
the whole of the names being difficult to pronounce, which all 
readers will find who on them do pounce. And if the men were 
as odd as the names we read, they must have been a set of odd 
fellows indeed. 

2 



18 REVIEW OF THE 

GENESIS : CHAPTER VI. 

The composer states that the sons of God took as many of the 
fair daughters of men as they chose, and that the Lord said man's 
days should be a hundred and twenty years ; from this it is rea- 
sonable to conclude, that the composer meant the fair ladies 
who had formed such a miraculous alliance were also to have 
their time of life shortened to one seventh of that of their ances- 
tors, and then their spiritual husbands might probably find spiritual 
wives at their decease, or at least those who would as willingly 
have that title conferred on them as the Mormon prophet's spiritual 
wives would at the present day. 

The composer, in her general rude style, states that respecting 
the fair daughters of men and their spiritual husbands, that no sane 
or sober person would assume to do, and records to the world as 
a sacred truth, and finishes the fourth verse with stating that the 
fair wives of the sons of God bare children to their husbands, and 
that they became mighty men of renown, and makes not a syllable 
of pretence that God found fault with his sons for forming an alli- 
ance with the fair ladies of the earth, or expressed the least dissat- 
isfaction respecting the legal family connexion ; but assumes to 
know that the Lord repented he had made man, and that it grieved 
him to his heart, and that he said he would destroy man, beasts, 
fowls of the air, and the creeping thing, for he repented he had 
made them ! This shows the old adage true, that story-tellers need 
good memories to enable them to make their stories correspond, 
so as to avoid contradicting each other which has not been done 
through either Bible or Testament, as they not only abound with 
silly, useless repetitions and recapitulations, but have many contra- 
dictions embodied in the work. The statement that God is 
immutable, is plainly contradicted in the one that he repents of 
what he had made, as also the statement that the Lord is full of 
mercy and loving kindness, the declaration that he will destroy 
all that drew the breath of fife ! In the eighth verse, the composer 
assumes to know that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, 
and walked with God, and also assumes to know that God looked 
on the earth as corrupt, and that he told Noah the end of all flesh 
had come, and that he would destroy them with the earth. But 
the composer's memory has not served her sufficiently to enable 
her to remember this statement, and in her flood story represents 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 19 

that a leaf was brought in by a dove to the ark, after the tops of 
the mountains were seen, and makes no pretence that the earth 
was destroyed, although if water had been over the tops of the 
mountains for fourteen months, as the composer has stated it was, 
it surely would have decayed all leaves ! 

The composer states in verse fourteen, that the spirit which 
walked with Noah tells him to build an ark of gopher-wood, and 
pitch it within and without, and in verses fifteen and sixteen tells 
him the form and fashion, length and breadth of it, and that it 
shall be three stories high, with window and door. 

Thus the composer of the story has shown that bark-building 
was known in the day when she wrote this flood story. She 
states Noah was commanded to take one pair of each living thing 
into the ark with him, and to gather food for them all ! and not a 
word of statement that the man is to have aid in this arduous task. 
But it plainly appears that the composer's whim, while fabricating 
the story, was that the tale might pass from the pen of such a 
shrewd lass ; so she let the story go, as any reader may know, for 
one man to catch the wild, and the tame, and those that could fly, 
which would puzzle Noah, had there ever been such a man to try ; 
and had any man been as strong as the lion and as swift as the 
deer, and tugged all to the ark — cat, mouse and rat, lion and 
lamb, and all the endless variety that inhabit the earth — the dimen- 
sions of the ark would not have afforded a birth for the live stock ! 
and the necessary food alone would have needed a far larger con- 
struction, and death must have ensued from starvation and also 
from suffocation. The story evidently shows lack of sober sense 
in its composer. 

The composer has stated that the ark rested on Mount Ararat, 
which, taken in connexion with her pretence that twenty-two and 
and a half feet rise of water over the earth covered all mountains, 
shows that she had lost recollection of the loftiness of that and 
other mountains at the time of writing the flood fable. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER VII. 



The composer states that Noah did according to all that the 
Lord commanded him ! The same statement is also made in the 
sixth chapter, the truth of which there is no reason to doubt ! it 



20 REVIEW OF THE 

is also reasonable to believe that not one man liveth, or ever 
did live, but strictly obeyed the commands given him by all 
invisible spirits that ever were known ! Noah and his family, 
and a pair of every living kind, are represented to have been 
housed or stowed in the ark, and that the windows of heaven 
were opened, and the waters prevailed ^/;ee?i cubits upward on the 
earth, and all that was on land died ! and every living substance ! 
But the composer neglects to make up any statement how grass, 
herbs, trees, &c., came again, after stating they had been drowned 
fourteen months ; thus leaving this fiction as blunderingly composed 
as the generality of the stories throughout the work, for it is man- 
ifestly poor logic to state twenty-two and a half feet depth of water 
covered the tops of all mountains, and can only reasonably be 
believed that the composer of the story lost recollection of all 
other eminences than those in the immediate vicinity of the palace 
she resided in (that of St. James, in London) while forming the 
fabrications. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER VIII. 

The composer assumes to know that an invisible spirit, which 
she designates this time by the single short title God, remembered 
Noah ! This, of course, she could not have known ; but she 
records sufficient proof that she remembered well the title she 
used as a hero to her flood story, and states the windows of 
heaven were stopped, and that after the end of 150 days the 
waters were abated and decreased continually until the first day of 
the tenth month, and then the tops of the mountains were seen ! 
thus making fourteen months for the water to have covered the 
earth and all mountains, when most persons know that waters will 
flow till they become level or nearly so ; consequently, had ever 
a sufficiency of water at any time have been found to have covered 
all the ground, there could have been no valleys empty for the 
unnatural quantities to have receded to, and the surface of the 
universe must ever have remained entirely water ! Another state- 
ment equally ridiculous can be found in verses twenty and twenty- 
one, that the man who is stated to have been commanded to go 
through the incredible task ! of building so large a bark, and 
gather the unbounded supply of food for a male and female of 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 21 

every species of the earth's inhabitants, to support them during the 
fourteen months that the waters covered the earth and mountains — 
and as the tops of the mountains only are stated to have been seen 
at the end of fourteen months, it is reasonable to beheve it would 
have taken fifty months more for the tillable portion of the earth 
to have had the water receded from it so that it should be in the 
condition to be cultivated, and then some months would of course 
transpire before there could be food to suit the varieties of living 
beings — yet notwithstanding all these natural and needful consid- 
erations, the composer states that the man who was commanded to 
save the couples for breed, took of every clean beast and bird, and 
made a burnt sacrifice to the power that gave him the instructions 
to save them ! and that the Lord smelled a sweet savor ! This 
statement manifestly shows, with the former parts of the chapter, that 
the composer was not perfectly sane and sober, or she would not 
have been likely to write anything so contrary to reason and 
truth, that either a visible or an invisible being could obtain a 
sweet smell from burning flesh, bones, sinews, and feathers ; and 
wild and contrary to reason, nature, and truth, as the statement 
evidently is ! the composer makes numerous repetitions of it in the 
course of the Bible, and on this occasion the composer shows her- 
self to be so improperly inspired, as to cause her to boldly assume 
knowing that an invisible spirit said in its heart, it would not any 
more curse the ground for man's sake ! 



GENESIS: CHAPTER IX. 

The composer states Noah and his sons had the same unneces- 
sary command given them as she stated was given to whales, and 
her imaginary first man and woman to be fruitful and multiply, 
which command is twice stated in this chapter, showing the treach- 
ery of the composer's memory ; this is well known to be a com- 
mon occurrence with most wine-bibbers, as they generally torment 
their hearers with repeating nonsense ! The composer in this 
chapter assumes to know that an invisible spirit talked consider- 
ably ; and she gives an account of Noah, the hero of her flood 
story, who she has represented was favored by the almighty, 
allwise spirit, above all other men, being drunk, w^hich appears to 
prove more, that she was not sober herself while composing the 



22 REVIEW OF THE 

Story, otherwise she would have portrayed a spotless and blame- 
less character for the one pictured forth as being so highly and 
peculiarly favored by the power or spirit represented to know all 
things. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER X. 

Repetition is made of the names of the sons of the hero of the 
flood story, and names of their sons and their generation. One is 
stated to have been a mighty hunter before the Lord. No other 
word about the Lord, or any of his other titles, is made use of in 
this chapter of thirty-two verses, neither is it pretended that any 
Lord or God spake a word of it. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XI. 

The composer assumes to know that the Lord proposed to his 
associates to go down to the earth, whose people were striving to 
build a tower that would reach to heaven ! but, previous to this 
proposition, had stated that the Lord came down ! to see the city 
and the tower which the children of men had built ! and after that 
represents the invisible spirit as being jealous of the people's skill 
and industry, and proposing to its associates that all of them go 
down with it and confound their language. As they then all had 
one language ! so it proposed that the whole company of lords 
should confound the people's language, that they should not under- 
stand one another. This manifestly shows, more plainly, that the 
person was not sane or sober who would attribute such cruelty 
as this to the same name or hero of a book wherein it is also stated 
that the Lord is represented full of mercy and loving-kindness^ 
than it does that any being or spirit superior to man was known to 
them. The composer, in verse nine, sums up in positive style (of 
language), that the Lord did confound the language of all the 
earth ! [Comment : Difference in language, and differences of 
speaking the same language, naturally occur in isolated situations.] 
The rest of the chapter (twenty-two verses) consists of men's 
names, stating, in rude style, they had children born to them. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 23 

GENESIS : CHAPTER XII. 

The composer assumes to know that the Lord told Abram to 
get out of his country ! and out of his father's house ! which state- 
ment does show more plainly that the writer did not know of a 
lord superior to man than it does that she did, as most men 
would have known that a man could not leave his country without 
leaving his father's house ! But the writer plainly shows herself 
to have been in an unfit condition to compose with reason, and 
boldly states that the Lord told Abram it would bless him, and 
make a great nation of him ! and that in him all families of the 
earth should be blessed ! and that it would bless them that blest 
Abram, and curse them that cursed Abram. Thus, according to 
this part of the said-to-be-holy Bible, not one family on earth has 
any reason to fear any injury, punishment, or evil, from the invis- 
ible that the composer assumes to know so much of, and to whom 
she gives such a variety of contradictory traits of character, that are 
totally incompatible to exist in one being. The composer states 
that the Lord appeared unto Abram, and told him he would give 
the land to his seed. Abram's wife is represented as being re- 
markably fair; and as the couple travelled toward the residence 
of Pharaoh, Abram directs his wife to call him brother, and he calls 
her sister. And the fair lady, being spoken of to the king, was 
taken into the king's house, and Abram was treated well for her 
sake; and after a time they were allowed to depart, with sheep and 
oxen, asses, camels, and men and maid servants. And Abram 
was very rich in silver and gold. Surely a shameful lesson to be 
told to scholars, either young or old. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XIII. 

Abram and wife and Lot leave Egypt with all they had got, 
which is stated to have been so great that the land was not able to 
bear them ; so they parted. And it is stated that, after they had 
separated, the Lord appeared unto Abram, and told him to look 
every way, and all the land he could see should be his and his 
seed's for ever! and that his seed should be made as numerous as 
the dust. Comment : If it were possible for a man to obtain such 
extensive property by telling this story to his neighbors, the inhab- 
itants of the territory must have been extremely credulous and 



24 REVIEW OF THE 

simple, if they suffered him to take such unnecessary large posses- 
sions. But the only fair or suitable decision to be attained, on a 
minute's reflection, after reading the wild tale, is, that the composer 
of it was not in sober state while fabricating such nonsense. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XIV. 



The composer does not assume to know that the invisible spirit 
spake one word of this chapter. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XV. 

The composer assumes to know that the word of the Lord 
came to Abram in a vision ! telling him it was his exceeding 
great reward ; and that Abram asked it what it w^ould give him, 
seeing he was childless, and that one born in his house must 
be his heir ! and that the Lord told him he should have an heir 
from his own bowels ! And the Lord brought Abram forth 
abroad, and told him his seed should be as numerous as the 
stars ! And the composer assumes to know Abram's belief. 

But in her repetition of the Lord telling Abram again that 
it gave him land to inherit, she represents Abram requiring a 
pledge, whereby he should place confidence in the same power 
that has been represented to have rewarded him so profusely; 
and that the same invisible spirit condescended to allow this 
deceitful man a pledge, who had instructed his fair wife to call 
him brother, and whom he called sister, while journeying tow- 
ard the residence of the rich king Pharaoh. The licentious feel- 
ings of the composer appear evidently to have induced her to 
make up this story in the rude manner in which it is composed. 
And in verse nine records plain proof that she lacked sober 
sense, in her statement that the Lord God said unto Abram, 
Take (as a pledge) for me an heifer of three years old, and a 
she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and 
a turtle dove, and a young pigeon, and that, when the sun 
went down, behold a smoking lamp and a burning furnace passed 
between these. Thus the composer exhibits a desire to make 
the story marvellous, and at the same time a deficiency of sober 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 25 

sense. And further states, that, on the same day, which, from 
her previous statement of the animate lamp and furnace, was 
represented as being after the setting of the sun and dark! the 
Lord gives to Abram all the land of ten different nations, and 
describes the boundaries of the gift in the same manner as one 
man would that sold land to another. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XVI. 

Sarai, the fair wife of Abram, who is represented to have 
joined with her husband in the worst of all tricks of deception 
in the preceding chapter, and who again, in the twentieth chap- 
ter of the same book, is represented to have joined with her 
husband in playing the same deceptive trick on the rich king 
Abimelech, the same strolling fair is represented no children 
did bare ; which is known was the case with Queen Elizabeth, 
the composer of the story, who here does pretend that Abram's 
old wife was so much his friend as to present him with a young 
maid, and direct him to take her as a wife. This all experi- 
ence has shown is rarely, if ever, done by any wife ! But the 
licentious habits of the composer has made her evidently yield 
to composing much rudeness and indecency in various parts 
of the work, aided, beyond reasonable dispute or doubt, by the 
inspiration of the same article she attributes to the hero of her 
flood story — making too free use of wine. In verse six the 
composer appears to have viewed occurrences, or formed her 
thoughts, in a manner more according to nature, in the state- 
ment of Abram's old wife deahng hardly with the young wife 
she had given to her husband (to be his wife), when she saw 
her appearance indicated she would have a child ; and states 
the young wife fled from the presence of the cross old wife, 
and that the angel of the Lord found the young wife by a foun- 
\Siin in the wilderness, and told her it would multiply her seed 
that it should not be numbered ; and told her she was with 
child! and what to call its name. Similar stories to this are in 
other parts of the Bible, and also in the Testament, all form- 
ing collectively strong proof that one person principally com- 
posed and wrote both books ; and the style of frequent repeti- 
tions of sentences and parts of stories, and recapitulations of 



26 REVIEW OP THE 

Stories, manifestly indicate, that if more than one person wrote 
the manuscript that the work was printed from, that composer 
and scribe were both generally under inspiration of wine while 
committing their imaginings to writing, and that the scribe, if 
any did assist, must have been a person accustomed to write law 
documents. But it certainly conveys an appearance of having 
been written principally by one person, as the statements gen- 
erally are singularly unnatural, and wildly contrary to reason and 
all well-known organization, to be the imaginings of more than 
one mind ! In verse twelve it is stated the angel tells the young 
deserted wife that her child shall be wild, and that his hand will 
be against every man, and that every man's hand shall be against 
his hand, and that he shall dwell in the presence of his breth- 
ren ; which story does plainly show, that the composer was not 
in a state to know that wild men and others did not live in the 
presence of each other. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XVII. 

The composer states the Lord told Abram who it was ! giving 
itself a double title, and told Abram to walk before it ; and that 
Abram fell on his face, and that God talked with him, giving him 
a new name ! and told him that it had made him a father of many 
nations. Abram has, previous to this, been stated to have had but 
one child, the son of the young wife that his old wife is stated to 
have given him, and he eighty-six years old, and reckoned well 
stricken in age. 

In verse ten the composer commences an unnatural and very 
improbable story — that the same spirit, who is represented as be- 
ing full of mercy and loving-kindness, gives command to have a 
cruel operation performed on every male child, both all that are 
in the house and all that are bought with money. And, notwith- 
standing this declaration, so bold and funny, 

It appears to suit the composer's mind so well, 

That she does many times more similar ones tell ; 

Although they with other parts of the work corroborate sufficiently bad, 

As to make the composer appear rather mad. 

The old wife's name is stated, in verse fifteen, to be changed by 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 27 

the spirit that is represented as immutable. And God tells Abra- 
ham (which is the new name the composer of the story states God 
gave to him) it will bless his wife, and give him a son of her, and 
that she shall be a mother of nations ! Then, the composer states, 
Abraham fell on his face and laughed ! and said in his heart, Shall 
a child be born of him that is a hundred years old ? and shall Sa- 
rah who is ninety years old bear? And the composer further as- 
sumes to know that God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son 
indeed ! and that he had blessed the son of the young wife that the 
old wife gave him, and that he should have twelve princes among 
his sons, and should multiply exceedingly ! This is the same 
child that was stated to be wild in sixteenth chapter. In verse 
twenty-two the composer states God left off talking, and went up ! 
but does not pretend to know where it went up to ; and makes 
repetition of her indecent, cruel story, stating that Abraham per- 
formed the cruel operation on himself, and all that were born in his 
house, and all that were bought with his money, when he was 
ninety-nine years old, on the self-same day as God had said unto 
him. Comment: Of Abraham doing all that any invisible spirit 
said to him, no rational being can doubt for a moment ; but that he 
and every man always can perform, without either sight or touch, 
as no one can ever have known the existence of such ! 

And the composer of the scrip has sufficiently proven, that she 
knew more of kings, courts, palaces, armies, and earthly grandeur, 
than she did about invisible beings or regions. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER XVIII. 

The composer states, the Lord appeared unto Abraham as he 
sat in the tent door, in the heat of the day ! and some men asked 
Abraham where his wife was, and Abraham told them in the tent, 
and one told him he would certainly return, and that his wife 
Sarah should have a son ; this is a repetition of the promise stated 
in the seventeenth chapter to have been made by God ! Abraham 
and Sarah are stated to have been well stricken in years at this 
time. Repetition is also made that Sarah laughed within herself, 
saying, " After I am old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old 
also?" And the Lord asked Abraham why Sarah laughed, say- 
ing, " Of a surety shall I bear a child, that am old?" Repetition 



28 REVIEW OF THE 

is made that the promise of the old lady bearing a child is renewed 
as being spoken by the Lord, and also of Sarah denying that she 
laughed when the strange promise was made that she should bear 
a child in her old age ; and that God said, " Nay, but you did 
laugh." The composer states in verse seventeen that the Lord 
inquired whether he should *'hide from Abraham that thing which 
I do, seeing that he shall become a great nation, and all the na- 
tions of the earth shall be blessed in him." Thus the composer 
has plainly shown deficiency of sober sense all through the story 
of Abraham and Sarah alias Abram and Sarai, representing them 
as becoming immensely rich, by means of the grossest of decep- 
tion, and of being profusely and peculiarly rewarded by an invis- 
ible spirit, that she represents as being very sociable and talkative 
with them. Fourteen more verses are filled with statements that 
this deceitful man and an invisible spirit held conversation. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER XIX. 

This chapter appears to have been written by a wild* sot, 

As in it is stated two angels appeared unto Lot, 

As he sat in the famous city Sodom's gate, 

And a feast was made for them, it doth state. 

But an assembly of men from the city 

Did not consider Lot's visitors so pretty, 

And told Lot to bring the men forthwith out, 

That they might see them and know what they were about. 

But Lot did for his supposed angels pray, [way.* 

And offered (in their stead) two virgin daughters, to be treated any 

And the men outside of the door, it is stated, 

Were by those inside struck blind. 

This improbability is so related. 

That those outside could not the door find. 

And Lot's visitors laid hold of his two daughters and told Lot to 
escape for his life to the mountain, and not look behind him, lest 
he be consumed ! They had told him, in verse thirteen, they 
would destroy the city, and in verse fourteen that the Lord would 
destroy it, and in verse twenty-four it is stated that the Lord 
rained brimstone and fire from the Lord! out of heaven, and over- 
threw those cities, and their inhabitants, and the plain ! and all 

* In this chapter. Lot's daughters are treated of as virgins and as mar- 
ried women, and as having had children by their father. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 29 

that grew on the ground. But Lot's wife looked back and be- 
came a pillar of salt! And the composer of the story assumes to 
know that an invisible spirit remembered Abraham, when it over- 
threw the cities where Lot dwelt ; this is making it to appear, as 
though Lot had a cot on a plot, that crossed the line, of the cities 
that blazed and amazed his wife, when she lost her life in a crack, 
for simply looking back ! In verse thirty it is stated, that Lot was 
so ill fated that he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave, and in 
due time they had each a child, and that they both thought it 
right to get their father drunk night after night ; thus the com- 
poser of the story, who it appears was a queen, has written much 
that is obscene, and in many other parts of both Bible and Testa- 
ment has given proof of licentious feelings and wild imagination, 
and has oft pictured the female character as bad as her own was 
known to be, and frequently shown forgetfulness, and has done so 
in this story by stating Lot's daughters had husbands, which she 
now forgets, and states their father was the father also of his 
daughters' two sons. The following chapter to this is a specimen 
of this style of composition ; and the story respecting Zipporah, 
the wife of Moses, in Exodus iv. and xxv., and the story of Jo- 
seph's mistress, and several others, with those of David's and Sol- 
omon's ladies, all portraying the female character shamefully bad. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER XX. 

Abraham's wife, who has been represented, some time back, 
as being old and stricken in years, is again represented to have 
so much enamored a rich king that he takes her into keeping, as 
her old deceitful husband called her his sister, as it is stated he 
previously did to the rich king Pharaoh ; and the composer of the 
story shows, as she has often done before, that she was not in a 
suitable condition to compose with reason, and assumes to know 
more about the transactions of the deceitful old woman, and the 
king who had made choice of her, than any sober person would, in 
verse four ; and in verse three has stated that God came to king 
Abimelech in a dream by night, and told him that he was but a 
dead man for the woman he had taken, for she was a wife, and 
commanded that she should be restored to her husband and he 
should pray for the king ! so it is stated that the deceitful Abra- 



30 REVIEW OF THE 

ham prayed, and that God healed the king and his wife and his 
maids, and they bare children, and that the Lord had prevented 
them before ; this change in one night appears not to be right. In 
verse fourteen it is stated king x\bimelech gave Abraham sheep 
and oxen, and men and women servants, and a thousand pieces 
of silver, and restored him his wife ! this is a similar reward as 
the composer stated in chapter fifteen was given by king Pharaoh 
to the deceitful couple, when they played the same trick on him 
as they are now stated to have played on king Abimelech. But, 
to the honor of the fair sex, it is undoubtedly well known that it is 
a very rare occurrence to find any of them acting so base as this 
old woman Sarah, alias Sarai, is represented to have acted, or even 
Jethro the priest's daughter Zipporah, or Joseph's mistress, or 
she that deceived her husband the young carpenter of the village 
of Bethlehem, which story lays the foundation of the bold pretence 
of knowing that human beings are to be burnt millions of years 
longer than any known substance could retain its form in fire ! as 
hell is only treated of in the Bible as being within the belly of a 
fish! But is vastly contradicted of being so cool in the Testa- 
ment, as in one chapter of that book it is thrice stated the fire will 
never be abated ! and that people had better enter into the king- 
dom of God with one foot, one hand, and one eye, after throwing 
the mates of them away, rather than their whole body should be 
cast into hell, where the worm dieth not, and where the fire is 
never quenched. This the composer doth three times state, much 
like inebriate prate, but in her world-making story did not pretend 
to know that a hell was created. But in the latter part of her wri- 
tings under the title of the New Testament, she shows herself more 
bold, and makes statement of a hell, and that an angel into it fell. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXI. 

The composer states the Lord visited Sarah and did unto her 
as he had said ! for Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in 
his old age at the set time it was promised ! and Abraham per- 
formed a cruel operation on his son, as God had commanded him ; 
this improbability the composer has stated also in the seventeenth 
chapter, that Abraham performed the same cruelty on all that were 
born in his house, and on all that were bought with money, as 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 81 

God commanded him, being now stated. It is reasonable to 
remark again, that statement so far, without doubt is true, as no 
one can find a God who would be so cruelly incUned, as to make 
human beings and set one to mutilate others ; the story palpably 
shows stronger proof that the composer was not in a suitable state 
of mind to write truth or reason, than it does that the composition 
was inspired by any power superior to man, for scarcely a sober 
man could be found who would compose so improbable and inde- 
cent a story. In the sixth verse, Sarah alias Sarai says God hath 
made her to laugh, so that all who hear her will laugh with her. 
This story is certainly a very laughable one, and shows plainly 
that the composer of it was by no means a hypochondriac, nor a 
dull melancholy person, but on the contrary a gay lascivious jade, 
who studied mostly fun and frolic, as the principal part of the work 
also doth show that she did study so. 

Abraham's old wife desires him to cast out the son of the young 
wife she had given him, and the composer states God tells Abra- 
ham not to grieve about it ! but hearken unto Sarah (the old 
wife). Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread 
and a bottle of water, and put it and the child on his young wife's 
shoulder, and sent her away ! here the composer manifestly makes 
one part of her fable not to comport with the other part, where 
she has represented the old deceitful couple becoming suddenly 
rich, and in another part states Abraham, alias Abram, to live in 
such style as to have three hundred and eighteen servants that 
were born in his house, trained for war and acting as soldiers (or 
freebooters), which on a moderate calculation — the parents, sis- 
ters, and younger brothers of the three hundred and eighteen 
young men-servants — would have made the whole number of ser- 
vants of Abram more than a thousand ; yet for not one to be spared 
to escort the young wife, that had borne him a child ! to the wil- 
derness, stamps the deceitful Abram with the character of an 
ungallant fellow. But the wild imagination and levity that are 
exhibited in this chapter are also to be found in many others, and 
form a leading trait of the work. In verse seventeen, it is stated, 
God heard the voice of the lad ! and the angel of God called out 
of heaven to its mother, telUng her to hold the lad in her hand, 
and it would make a great nation of him ! Thus heaven is made 
to appear no higher than the top of a small tree, or the voice of 
the babe loud as thunder. 



32 REVIEW OF THE 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXII. 



God is stated to have tempted the deceitful Abraham, alias 
Abram, and to have called to him, and that Abraham answered, 
" Behold, here am I !" It is also stated that God commanded 
Abraham to take his only son ! as though he yet had but one, 
when it has before been stated that he was double mated, and that 
both wives had borne him a son ; the composer appears, while 
writing this story, to have forgotten she had a story made, that 
Abraham's young wife bore him one valuable son, and that his old 
wife well stricken in years had also borne him one, which in this 
story is required of him to offer as a burnt offering ; and the wild 
imaginings of the composer carries her on to state, that Abraham 
stretched forth his hand, with a knife, to slay the prize of the old 
wife, and that the angel of the Lord called out of heaven telling 
him not to lay his hand on the lad, and that the angel with the 
customary annexed titles, that make such phantoms believed by 
the credulous, called out a second time out of heaven and said 
it had sworn by itself ! " saith the Lord, because thou hast not 
withheld thy only son, I will multiply thy seed as the stars, and as 
the sand on the seashore ;" repetition is also made that in Abra- , 
ham shall all nations of the earth be blessed. The composer with '.. 
her usual levity states that a woman bore eight children to Abra- ; 
ham's brother, and that his brother's concubine, whose name is 
given also, bore him four more. Thus the story of God swear- 
ing, and concubines bearing, &c., &c., certainly show want of so- 
briety by their impropriety. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXIII. 



The age and death of Sarah, alias Sarai, is stated ; also the 
name of the place where the deceitful jade was buried, but not one 
word about any God, or Lord, or Holy Ghost. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXIV. 



In this it is told that Abraham was old, and that he told a ser- 
vant to draw nigh and put his hand under his thigh, and he would 
make him swear by the Lord God of heaven, and the God of earth ! 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 33 

In this sentence it is plainly seen much mischief has been done by 
the queen who thus wrote, by which she did pompous nonsense 
promote. 

Abraham, alias Abram, sends his servant to the country, as it is 
stated, that the Lord God of heaven had taken him from ! Repe- 
tition is also made that the Lord took him from his father's house! 
and that it sware ! it would give him the land. And this hypo- 
critical, deceitful man directs that God shall send his angel before 
the man. The servant follows the example of his master in his 
mission, by making free use of pompous phrases and titles referring 
to supposed objects, and obtains a fair damsel for his master's son 
by the name of Rebekah, who was asked if she would go with the 
man, and she said, 1 will. So she and her sister and nurse were 
allowed to go ; and Isaac, the son of Abraham's old wife, took 
Rebekah and loved her. Jewels of both silver and gold, and pre- 
cious things, with raiment, are treated of in this pretended early 
part of creation as being abundant. In another chapter a similar 
story is made of Isaac having his name changed, and of his telling 
King Abimelech that his wife was his sister, as his father had done 
before him, and of the king seeing him sport with Rebekah, and 
telling him she was his wife, both showing the composer's levity. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXV. 

Abraham, alias Abram, takes a new wife ; and in this said-to- 
be-holy chapter the composer states the name of said wife, and the 
names of her children, and, in her usual style of levity, that these 
children had children ; and some story about the sons of Abraham's 
concubines, and of Abraham and the son of the young wife that his 
old wife gave him — that both gave up the ghost, thus representing 
the breath of man to be the ghost ! Repetition is made of a tale 
of barrenness of Isaac's wife, similar to that about his father's old 
wife, who brought Isaac forth in her old age, when she was well 
stricken in years ; and that, on Isaac entreating for his wife, be- 
cause she was barren, she soon felt a struggling, and inquired of the 
Lord why she was in that condition. She surely must have known 
why better than any supposed invisible spirit could have told her. 
But the composer of the story, through improper boldness, slates 
that the Lord told Rebekah she had two nations within her ! And 

3 



34: KEVIEW OF THE 

the composer's usual levity and boldness, it appears, inspired her 
to state that the first child Rebekah gave birth to was red and all 
over hair, and that a brother to it was immediately born, who took 
hold of the first child's heel. The boys grew, and the father loved 
the red hairy one, because he eat venison. Here the composer i 
has, as usual, shown that visible things were to her much better 1 
known than the imaginary ones she so bunglingly attempts to 
pourtray. 

GENESIS: CHAPTER XXVI. 
The composer states the Lord told Isaac to dwell in the land 
it should tell him of, and it would give him all these countries, and 
would perform the oath it sware to Abraham, ahas Abram, and 
would make his seed to multiply as the stars, and in his seed should 
all the nations of the earth be blessed. This story being a repeti- 
tion of one of the same description and nature of one stated to have 
been spoken by God to this man's father, the composer also repeats 
a similar deceptive story of this man and wife playing the same 
trick on King Abimelech as his father and mother did when they 
declared themselves brother and sister. Both women are repre- 
sented to have been fair, so the king takes each of these fair ladies 
awhile, and rewards their reputed brothers profusely ; and threat- 
ened all his people with death, if they touched the man or his fair 
wife. And the man went forward and became very rich. This 
is the third story of this lewd nature the composer has made in the 
first book of Moses ; but no account is yet given of the birth of 
Moses, to which the composer appears not to have given a thought 
until she writes her fifty-second chapter, under the title of the books 
of that hero. In verse twelve of chapter twenty-six the composer 
states the Lord blessed this Isaac, who had played the same de- 
ceptive trick on the rich King Abimelech as his father had done. 
Who has also been largely rewarded by a spirit that the composer 
states is equitable and just, and made man out of dust. But she 
plainly does show, that she no such spirit did know. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER XXVII. 

This chapter is composed of a lesson of deception — of a mother 
instructing one son to cheat his brother and deceive his father ! — 
without a pretence of either God or the Lord saying a word. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 35 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXVIII. 



Jacob's ladder is treated of. Jacob is represented to have laid 
his head on some stones, which uncomfortable pillow caused him 
to dream that a ladder reached from earth to heaven. This would 
make an impression on his mind, that it would afford him an op- 
portunity to escape from his pillow, on which he could not rest 
comfortably. And the composer of the story would naturally think 
of this, and, to make the fiction appear marvellous, states. Behold ! 
the angels of God ascending and descending on it ; and behold ! 
the Lord stood above it, and told Jacob it was the God of Abraham 
and Isaac, and that it would give him the land he laid on, to him 
and his seed, and that his seed should be as the dust of the earth, 
and in them should all families of the earth be blessed. This has 
been stated several times before and attributed to other names, and 
the kind promise being universal, makes praying and preaching per- 
fectly useless ! And, of course, those who are supported by such 
business, prefer selecting texts that terrify people into the belief that 
to believe what they preach will save them from everlasting burning. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXIX. 

A LESSON of deception is also given here, as well as in the pre- 
ceding chapter. Beginning with about the most pleasant tale of the 
whole book — that Jacob met his fair cousin Rachel by the well, and 
kissed her, and lifted up his voice and wept ! The composer also 
makes it appear that Rachel was niece to Jacob, as well as repre- 
senting her as cousin to him. But the worst of the story is the 
statement of the father of Rachel deceiving Jacob, after he had 
agreed to give him Rachel to be his wife, for whom Jacob had 
formed an affection, and had agreed to serve her father seven years 
for her. After he had faithfully performed his part of the contract, 
the father of Rachel makes a feast for all the men of the place, and 
in the evening brought an older daughter to Jacob, who found out 
the deception in the morning, and accosted the father on account 
of the treacherous trick he had played him, in giving him a daugh- 
ter that was older, and ill-favored, and tender-eyed. And Rachel 
was beautiful ! so the young man served seven more years for Ra- 
chel, the one he loved ! Fifteen more verses are filled with the 
composer's usual style of levity, similar to what has been stated 



36 REVIEW OF THE 

4 

respecting Abraham, alias Abram, and Sarah, alias Sarai — of Ja- 
cob's wives giving each a young maid to Jacob, their husband, that 
they might bear him children in the periods (as the rude composer 
states) they v^^ere prevented from bearing by the Lord. Surely it 
is high time, in this age of improvement, to set such fabrications 
aside, and introduce doctrines that are practically and demonstrably 
known to be true and useful. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXX. 

This is the chapter containing the rude statements of Jacob's 
two wives each giving him a maid, and telling him what to do to 
them, to cause them to bear children ; and of one of his wives 
telling Jacob that God had judged her, and heard her, and given 
her a son. And the tender-eyed wife tells Jacob that God has 
given her her hire, because she had given her handmaid to her 
husband. And Jacob's first love, Rebekah, tells him that God 
had taken away her reproach by causing her to bare Jacob a son, 
and said, God shall add to me another! Thus the composer 
makes free to use letters three on all manner of occasions, or, at 
any rate, on a vast variety of contradictory ones, attributing to the 
word many occurrences nowhere else known, or heard, but in the 
work left by the queen. 

The last thirteen verses contain another lesson of deception, un- 
der pretence of righteousness. Jacob agrees with the father of his 
wives, that the speckled and spotted among the flocks of his father- 
in-law should be his for his services in taking care of the whole ; 
and after thus bargaining, Jacob took green rods and peeled white 
streaks in them, and put them in the troughs which the cattle drank 
out of, and the cattle brought forth spotted and speckled young. 
But when the feeble cattle came to drink, he did not put the va- 
riegated sticks in. And he had much cattle, camels and asses, and 
increased exceedingly ! and had maid servants and men servants. 
In the following chapter he tells his wives that God has taken away 
their father's cattle and given them to him. 

It is certainly high time the three letters, god, were applied to 
more useful, rational, and better purposes than that of deception. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 37 

GENESIS: CHAPTER XXXI. 

This chapter is also a lesson of deception. The composer 
states that the Lord told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers. 
Then Jacob called his wives, and told them their father had de- 
ceived him ; but God had not suffered their father to hurt him. 
For when their father told him the speckled of the flocks should 
be for his wages, then all the cattle bare speckled, and if he said 
the ring- streaked should be for my wages, then bare all the cattle 
ring-streaked. And adds, thus has God taken away the cattle of 
your father, and given them to me. Like most of the stories 
throughout both Bible and Testament, this is garnished with a 
dream in rude style ! So in verses ten, eleven, twelve, and thir- 
teen, is more rudeness and indecency stated to have been spoken 
by an angel, who styles itself the God of Bethel, or so it is stated. 
And in verse sixteen it is stated the wives of Jacob declare, that 
all the riches God has taken from their father that is theirs ! and 
their children's. Thus transactions of the worst kind are attributed 
to the short title of God. Jacob steals away unawares with his 
wives and all his goods, and his father-in-law misses some of his 
property on which he set much value, and pursues after Jacob, 
and overtakes him. And the composer of the story states that 
God came to Laban, the father of Jacob's wives (which is stated, 
as most other parts of the fiction are, to have occurred in a dream 
by night !) and told him not to speak either good or bad to Jacob. 
In verse twenty-five repetition is made that Laban overtook Jacob; 
but the composer represents the old gentleman acting different from 
the instructions verbally given him by the august character repre- 
sented to have made all that is visible, and much that can not be 
discerned (to exist), in six days. And instead of making the dif- 
ferent parts of the story corroborate somewhat wath each other, 
by stating the man who had been so highly favored as to have a 
spirit talk to him that no one can obtain a glimpse of, this man up- 
braids his son-in-law, and says much to him ! and asked him why 
he stole away, and why he did not let him know he would go, that 
he might have sent him away with mirth, song, tabret, and harp ; 
and reminds him that he had no chance to kiss his children. And 
also tells the husband of his daughters that God told him yester- 
night not to speak to him, and charges his son-in-law with having 
stolen his gods. And the son-in-law tells the old gentleman that 

5 



38 REVIEW OF THE 

God has seen his affliction, and the labor of his hands, and had re- 
buked Laban yesternight ! And Jacob took a stone and set it up 
for a pillar, and told his father to gather stones, and the father said 
the heap of stones was a witness between them two ! Comment : 
Surely they never would give false testimony. The whole story 
must be discerned to be improbable by an attentive perusal, and 
the composition evidently exposes a want of sober sense in its com- 
poser, more than forming a particle of evidence that it has been 
written or inspired to be written by any superior power to man. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXXII. 

The composer states that the angel of God met Jacob. In verse 
thirty Jacob boasts that he had seen God face to face ! and his life 
was preserved! No other word about God, Lord, or Ghost, in 
this chapter. But in another chapter, under the title of the books 
of Moses, the composer attempts to picture a spirit, or being, by the 
title of the three letters, g o d, as declaring no man shall see its face 
and live ; by which statement the queen appears to insinuate, that 
she and the rest of her sex are not debarred the privilege of seeing 
the invisible spirit, if they can find it. And states that such a spirit 
clapt Moses, its servant, in the cleft of a rock, and hid him with its 
hand, as it passed by. Thus the hand of the spirit need to have 
been about ten feet long and five feet wide, which would make the 
statement in Genesis (first and twenty-seventh) false ! where it is 
stated man was made in the image and likeness of such an invisible 
spirit. Thus every unprejudiced reader may discover, from chap- 
ter to chapter of the said-to-be-holy Bible and sacred Scriptures, 
composition calculated to do much mischief, in cases where its ob- 
servance is forced upon children, by lumbering their memories and 
filling their minds with unnecessary dread, and also retarding the 
acquirement of useful knowledge and instruction that would be of 
daily use to them through life ! enabling them to be useful, agree- 
able members of society. Instead of which, the unbounded stress 
that is put on mere belief in the New Testament, and preached 
from, makes a difficult belief of more importance than all the con- 
cerns of life, and drives thousands to insanity. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 39 

GENESIS : CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Jacob again states he has seen the face of God, and bestows 
the title of lord on his brother. No other Lord is treated of in 
this chapter, and no pretence is made that it is the word of God. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXXIV. 



This chapter contains another lesson of deception, and a story 
of seduction by force, and no pretence of any word from any God. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXXV. 

The composer states that God told Jacob to make an altar unto 
God! in Bethel, and that God appeared there to Jacob (verse 
seventh); but Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died! and was buried 
under an oak (verse eighth). In verse ninth God appeared unto 
Jacob again, and changed his name to that of Israel. Comment : 
Here the composer shows the same flight of fancy as she did in 
the seventeenth chapter, where she stated God changed the deceitful 
Abram's name to that of Abraham, when he was well stricken in 
years. Any person in their teens must surely be convinced, by 
reading these inconsistent stories, that they are bungling fiction. 
Repetition is made that God tells this man who he is, giving itself 
a double title, as on a former occasion pretended ! The composer 
shows that she forgot stating, in verse tenth, that God changed Ja- 
cob's name to that of Israel, and that God called him by his new 
name ; but writes eighteen more verses about Jacob, and that he 
lived one hundred and eighty years ; which is a proof the com- 
poser had forgotten her former statement, that, after her flood story, 
God only allowed man to live one hundred and twenty years. Fi- 
nally, in the last verse of this chapter, the composer's recollection 
appears to be recruited, by her stating this man gave up the ghost, 
calling him by the new name she had stated God gave him. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXXVI. 



This chapter contains forty-three verses free from pretence that I 
God, or the Lord, or the Ghost, spoke a word more than any post ! \ 



4:0 REVIEW OF THE 

and is composed of stories respecting men and their wives and 
concubines. And many stories of fabled kings and dukes help to 
fill up. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Another lesson of deception is here presented, and also one 
of licentiousness and levity, casting a stain on the female character, 
as the queen has done in former chapters, in the story of the two 
daughters of Lot, and in the story of the fair deceiver Sarah, alias 
Sarai, and the story of the fair Rebekah. And the tales or fabri- 
cations of this chapter are, like most of the stories throughout the 
work, garnished with a dream : this has two such embellishments. 
Joseph tells his brethren that he dreamed, in his second dream, 
that the sun, moon, and the eleven stars, made obeisance to him ! 
Repetition is made of his telling his brethren of this dream. This 
style of composition can be discerned as one of the general features 
of the work, and is also a common practice with most persons in 
their conversation when their faculties are impaired with strong 
drink. Joseph's brethren strip his coat off and cast him into a pit, 
and afterward sell him; and they killed a goat and dipped his coat 
in the blood, and brought it to their father, and said they found it. 
And the father, knowing the coat, supposed wild beasts had de- 
voured his son Joseph ; and he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth 
on his loins, and mourned for his son, and refused to*be comforted 
by the deceitful, cruel sons, or anybody else, and said he would go 
down mourning to the grave. Thus the composer has filled up 
this chapter of thirty-six verses, without pretending that any Lord, 
or God, or Ghost, spoke one word of it. Leaving no chance for 
those who act the merry romance, of declaring the book to be the 
word of any such that no person can see or touch. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



This contains another lesson of deception and levity. The 
composer states the Lord slew a man. This is representing such 
a spirit in a contrary manner from the statement in another chapter 
of the work, where it is stated to be slow to anger, and full of 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 41 

mercy and loving-kindness. Contradiction, and repetition, with 
inconsistency, will, by observation, be found on most of its pages. 
The eighth and ninth verses are extremely indecent ! and are such 
as scarcely any sober person would commit to paper. The fif- 
teenth verse commences another shameful, lewd story, and con- 
tinues through fifteen verses of this said-to-be-boly Bible, or word 
of God, as many that are supported by preaching out of it and the 
New Testament boldly style it. The Testament has similar inde- 
cent and inconsistent stories in it, and the style of it throughout 
manifestly shows, that nearly, if not quite, the whole of both books 
have been composed by a person of wild imagination and of licen- 
tious habits, who does not pretend that any Lord, God, or Ghost, 
spake one word of this chapter. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The composer states the Lord was with Joseph, and also that 
Joseph was in the house of his master, an Egyptian ; and also 
that his master saw the Lord was whh him, and that Joseph was 
well favored; and his master's wife cast her eyes upon him. The 
composer stigmatizes the female character in this story as bad as 
she has done that of Sarah, alias Sarai, Lot's two daughters, and 
the fair Rebekah ; but portrays the character and conduct of Jo- 
seph to be more faithful to his master than it is natural to expect it 
would have been, under such temptations as the levity of the queen 
must have induced, or inspired her so boldly and impudently to 
state, which but few licentious persons would do without the aid 
of strong drink. It is not pretended that God spake one word of 
this chapter. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER XL. 

A KING is treated of as living in such style as to keep such a 
number of butlers and bakers that he had chiefs over each, which 
does not correspond well with the story that the world was so re- 
cently created. Twenty-three verses are filled with a story re- 
specting King Pharaoh's chief butler and chief baker, and that he 
hanged the chief baker. In another chapter it is stated this king 



42 REVIEW OF THE 

also kept magicians, and that immense numbers of people were 
driven cruelly by taskmasters of this king's appointing over them 
to the labor of brickmaking, which also appears to contradict the 
statement of the earth being so recently made as it is pretended ; 
for if that statement were true, owners of land could have been but 
few, and people would have supported themselves independently 
by cultivation, rather than have suffered themselves to be slaves to 
a fellow-being. Not one word of this chapter is stated to have 
been spoken by any Lord or God. But it is, like most others, 
garnished by dreams. 



GENESIS: CHAPTER XLI. 



The word God is freely made use of in this chapter ; but it 
is not pretended that any spirit spake one word of its fifty-seven 
verses. A useless, silly detail of two dreams compose the whole, 
free from pretence that either God or Lord spake one word. 



GENESIS : CHAPTERS XLH.— XLV. 



These four chapters are free from pretence of any part being 
the word of God. 



GENESIS : CHAPTER XLVI. 

The composer states God spake unto Israel, calling Jacob ! 
Jacob ! and he answered. Here am I ! And that God told him 
who he was, and that he would make of him a great nation ! and 
would go down with him into Egypt, and would surely bring him 
up again. 

The composer shows that, while she composed this chapter, 
she had forgotten her statement in the three last verses of chapter 
thirty-five, where it is stated that Israel, alias Jacob, died ! — gave 
up the ghost ! — consequently he could speak no more than a post. 

Thirty-one verses of this chapter do not contain any pretence 
that God spake one word of them. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 4^ 

GENESIS : CHAPTERS XLVII.— L. 

Not one word in these four chapters is pretended to have been 
spoken by any God or Lord. 



And by observation it can easily be discerned, where the pre- 
tence is made that a God, or a Lord, or an angel, spake, that the 
fabrication is generally ridiculous, and inconsistent, and altogether 
inDprobable ! if not impossible! And as it respects all that has 
been written about a ghost, it would certainly be more manly and 
rational to treat of a wooden post, as then people could have 
ocular demonstration that the article existed which was treated of, 
and could judge whether what was stated about it was true. And 
they would not be likely to have their minds filled with unnecessary 
dread, or be driven either distracted or crazy ; which lunatic asy- 
lums in most countries bear sad evidence of, that many thousands 
have had their reason destroyed by the terrifying tales that have 
been preached to them about imaginary spirits and regions. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER I. 



One set of people are represented to have been much oppressed 
by having task-masters set over them, who made their lives bitter 
by grievous burdens of hard labor, and compelled them to make 
brick and build cities of treasure for king Pharaoh, which king is 
stated to have ordered the midwives to kill all the male children ! 
and as the composer of the story had no children of her own, this 
story appears to have suited her fancy so well that she relates it 
twice, and states that the boys were saved, and on that account 
God made the women who saved them houses ! which fabrication 
corresponds not well with the fonner part of the chapter, that there 
lived people at the time who were held in bondage to make brick 
and build cities ! neither does the story of Pharaoh being able to 
exercise such power over people, as is stated he did, corroborate 
with the story of the world being recently created, for if it had 



44 REVIEW OF THE 

been possible the immense bulk had not been in existence at any- 
time, it is by no means probable it ever would have existed ; but to 
those who have been led to believe such an impossibility did occur' 
on a certain day, it might be asked, who can tell where the mass 
was brought from? and it can not reasonably be believed that one 
man or one set of people could hold others in bondage, in an 
early stage of the settlement of the earth by man, when an unlim- 
ited, unoccupied territory without owners, was before them ; and 
some credit is due to the wild writer, for not being in this chapter 
so bold as to pretend that a God spake a word of the fabrication — 
no, not one word. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER II. 

In this chapter an account is given of the birth of Moses, the 
murderer ; showing the forgetfulness of the composer, as she has 
styled the fifty-one preceding chapters the writings of this babe, 
and the statements of occurrences that are there treated of as hav- 
ing transpired would make it appear this babe had been writing 
2600 years previous to his existence ; and as the story of the 
world being made on the first day of time, Moses needs to have 
been suspended in chaos before time began, to give him a chance 
to know any thing on the first day of the year one. It is stated 
he slew an Egyptian, and soon after was rewarded by a priest with 
one of his daughters, and no account is given that Moses was pun- 
ished or tried for the murder he had committed. But soon after 
he is termed the servant of God, and represented as acting as his 
agent ! receiving commands from him, and telling the people he 
had been thus honored. The composer of the story assumes to 
know of a God that heard the groaning of the people, and that he 
looked upon the children of Israel and respected them ; but does 
not pretend to know that any God or Lord spake one word of the 
chapter. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER III. 



The composer assumes to know that an angel appeared unto 
Moses the murderer in a flame of fire ! out of the midst of a 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 45 

bush ; and that when the Lord saw he turned aside to see, God 
called unto him out of the midst of the bush, for Moses had said 
he would turn aside to see why the bush did not burn ! and it 
is stated God called " Moses, Moses !" and he said, " Here am 
1!" and the composer assumes to know that God tells Moses not 
to draw nigh, and to pull off his shoes ! 

The composer further assumes to know of a God telling Moses 
the murderer who himself was, and that Moses was afraid to look 
upon him, and hid his face ; it is also stated the Lord said he had 
seen the affliction of his people, and that he knew their sorrows 
by reason of their task-masters, and had come down to deliver 
them out of their hands, and to bring them to a large good land 
flowing with milk and honey ! the oft-repeated fable is added to 
this, to the place of six different ites, a contradiction to the char- 
acter of equitable and just. And it is manifestly bad logic in the 
composer to pretend to know an invisible spirit, and represent it 
as being full of mercy and loving kindness, and also to represent 
it as driving people away from their homes, at the same time pre- 
tending the world was but recently created ; which would have 
allowed plenty of land for all parties ! It is stated God tells 
Moses the murderer he will send him to Pharaoh, that he may 
bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, and that Moses said 
unto God, " Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring 
forth the children of Israel?" It is stated God tells Moses he will 
certainly be with him ! And Moses asks God, that when he 
should tell the people that God had sent him, and they ask what 
is his name ! what he shall say to them ! Then it is stated God 
tells Moses to say, " I AM hath sent me unto you :" with four 
more long verses on the same subject ; and here begins the tedious 
absurd stories of pretences that an invisible spirit, under different 
titles, sends the fabled murderer Moses to the fabled Pharaoh, 
with commands to have the children of Israel allowed to do sacri- 
fice in the wilderness, and each time the commands are stated to 
have been given, a declaration is also stated to have been made by 
the same invisible, that it would harden the same king's heart 
that he should not obey the commands ! the invisible also tells 
Moses it is sure the king will not let the people go ! and directs 
Moses to command every woman of the Israelites to borrow of 
her neighbors, and of those that sojourn with them, jewels of 
silver and gold, also raiment, " and put them on your sons and 



46 REVIEW OF THE 

daughters, and spoil the lenders ;" it is also stated that God says 
he will give the borrower favor in the sight of the lenders. This 
comment manifestly appears to show the composition of the chap- 
ter to be the imagination of one inspired by strong drink, more thaa 
it does of its being the word of a God of equity and truth, or a 
being full of mercy and loving kindness. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER IV. 

The composer states, Moses tells God the people would not 
believe him, and will say the Lord hath not appeared ! and that 
the Lord asks Moses the murderer what he has in his hand ! 
Moses answers, A rod ; and the Lord tells him to cast it on the 
ground, and by Moses' doing so it became a serpent, and Moses 
is represented to have fled from it ! which is the exact mode of 
conduct practised by those who act tricks of legerdemain, showing 
clearly that the composer of the story had indulged herself with 
amusements of that kind, and it can not be well doubted that 
queen Elizabeth did so, who states the Lord told Moses to take 
the serpent by the tail ! and that it became a rod again in his 
hand ; and further, that the Lord told Moses to put his hand in 
his bosom, and when he did so it became leprous as snow ; after- 
ward the same invisible told Moses to put his hand again into his 
bosom, and when he plucked it out, it was turned again as his 
other flesh ! Thus it can be plainly seen, that a licentious queen 
pictures scenes similar to those she had often seen and felt dis- 
posed to have some of her subjects act before her, while her dis- 
sipated course of conduct prevented her trom being blest with 
those natural enjoyments of a family circle of her own. She also 
states that the Lord told Moses the murderer that if the people 
would not believe those two signs, they would believe the latter 
sign, and if they would not hearken to his voice, then to pour 
water of the river on the land, and it should become blood ; then 
Moses told the Lord that he was not eloquent, but slow of speech 
and of a slow tongue. And the Lord repeated that he would be 
with him ! Moses requested again to have some one sent ; then 
the anger of the Lord was kindled ! and he told Moses that he 
knew his brother Aaron could speak well ! and said, *' And he 
Cometh to meet thee, and will be glad in his heart when he seeth 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 47 

thee, and thou shalt put words in his mouth, and T will be with 
thy mouth and with his mouth, and teach you what he shall do, 
and he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to 
him instead of God!" Thus the composer makes Moses a God 
in this story, and further assumes to know of a God directing 
Moses to take a rod in his hand and do signs with it, and telling 
him to return to Egypt, for all the men who sought after his hfe 
were dead ! Comment : This story is similar to the one in the 
second and twentieth of Matthew, where Joseph, the young 
carpenter of the village of Bethlehem, who it is stated was inad- 
vertently mated to the fabled mother of Jesus, was told to return 
from where he had taken flight by night, to the place whence he 
had come, with the child and the deceitful dame, its mother, who 
its real father's name did smother, as those were dead who sought 
to take off its head, or take its life perhaps without a knife : 
so Moses took his wife and sons, and set them on a long- 
eared animal, and took the rod of God in his hand, while he jour- 
neyed toward his native land, and while he looked so brave and 
bold, is by the Lord told to tell Pharaoh, " The Lord saith, Israel 
is my son ! even my first born !" Comment: Here the composer 
records that she has forgotten the nations and tribes stated to have 
been created before her flood story, showing that she must have 
yielded to the same fault that her hero of the flood story did, that 
of drinking too much wine. 

In verse twenty-four, it is stated that the Lord met Pharaoh by 
the way in the inn, and sought to kill him ! this and the two next 
verses plainly show that the composer of the story must have been so 
much overpowered by stupefying and exhilarating beverage, that 
she felt no respect for either sex or age, as she has been bold enough 
to state, what it is a disagreeable task to relate or transcribe, although 
it is needed to be done, as it treats of so high-standing a one as 
the wife of Moses and daughter of a priest, maiming her son for 
life, so that he would never want a wife, and this, it is stated, was 
done with a sharp stone, cutting flesh without breaking bone, and 
casting the piece of the lad by the feet of his dad, telling him he 
was a bloody husband to her ! and the composer assumes to know 
of a God that told Moses the murderer to meet his brother in the 
wilderness, and that Moses did so and kissed him ! and that Aaron 
spake all the words which th« Lord had spoken to Moses ! Com- 
ment : This beyond doubt would be an easy task, and could be 



48 REVIEW OF THE 

performed silently. Thus all that is here stated that a God spoke, 
is evidently as wild a joke as any inebriate would ever prate. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER V. 

Moses and Aaron tell a king, " Thus saith the Lord ! Let my 
people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness ;" 
and the king declares he does not know such a character, and will 
not let the people go, and tells these said to be holy messengers 
that they make the people idle, and also tells the people they are 
idle, and orders their tasks to be increased, and the people tell 
Moses he has been the means of a sword being set against them ; 
then Moses charges the Lord with ill-treating the people. God 
does not speak a word of this chapter ! 



EXODUS: CHAPTER VI. 

The composer states that the Lord tells Moses, Now thou shalt 
see what I will do unto Pharaoh. Repetition is made, that a God 
told Moses who it was, and that it was known by some of its thles, 
but not by the whole of them. Repetition is also made, that it 
says it has heard the groaning of the children of Israel ; and that it 
tells Moses to say unto them, it will take them from bondage, and 
bring them to the land it sware to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Ja- 
cob, and give it to them ! the children of Israel. Thus the com- 
poser assumes to know a God that could effect miracles by its nod^ 
yet she does it portray as talking in many a way, and here makes 
repetition that it sends Moses and Aaron on a useless, wild com- 
mission. Fourteen more verses are filled with droll-sounding^ 
names, stated to be of men, and their wives, and their children, 
aiding to lengthen the book, and make it stupifying to the reader* 
The two last verses contain another repetition of a Lord telling Mo- 
ses who it was ! and of Moses telling it he was incapable of making 
Pharaoh hearken unto him. The whole forming another proof 
that the composer lacked sober sense. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 49 



EXODUS: CHAPTER VII. 



The composer assumes to know of a God who said to Moses, 
the murderer, it bad made him a god, and that his brother Aaron 
should be his prophet; and sends a command to a king, and de- 
clares it will harden his heart, so that he will not hearken to the 
command, that it might lay its hand on his kingdom, and bring 
forth its own armies. The composer states Moses and Aaron 
did as the Lord commanded them. This, of course, is one of the 
few truths that are rare in the book. 

The composer states the Lord told Moses and Aaron that, when 
Pharaoh asked them to show a miracle, Aaron must cast down his 
rod before Pharaoh, and it should become a serpent! It was cast 
down, it is stated, before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became 
a serpent! And the king's magicians did the same with their rods, 
and they became serpents! But Aaron's rod swallowed up their 
rods ! And the Lord told Moses that Pharaoh's heart was hardened, 
and he refused to let the people go ; and tells Moses to see Phar- 
aoh in the morning, before he goes to the water, and take the rod 
which was turned to a serpent in his hand. And repetition is made, 
that a Lord said that Moses shall say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the 
Lord, let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness. 
And that the Lord does say. Thou shah know that I am the Lord ! 
behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand the waters in 
the rivers, and they shall be turned to blood ! and the fish in them 
shall die ! and the river shall stink ! and people shall loathe to 
drink ! The seven last verses are filled with the same kind of 
dismal curses, sufficiently showing that the composer thought her- 
self knowing, and other people fools. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER VHI. 

The composer again assumes to know of a Lord that told Mo- 
ses, the murderer, to go and repeat the old story to Pharaoh to let 
the people go. And if he refuse to let them go, I will fill his 
borders with frogs ! and the river shall bring forth frogs abundant- 
ly ! they shall be in his house, and his bedchamber, and on his 
bed, and in the house of his servants, and on his people, and in his 
ovens, and kneading-troughs. Part of this same tale b repeated : 

4 



50 REVIEW OF THE 

And the Lord, It is stated, tells Moses, the murderer, to tell Aa- 
ron to stretch out his hand with his rod over the waters of Egypt, 
and the frogs came up and covered the land of that country ; the 
king's magicians also brought frogs with their enchantments, it is 
stated ; which can show or prove nothing more than that the 
composer of the story was not in a sane and sober stale when wri- 
ting, and that the compilers of the work never read it, but handed 
the manuscript to a printer, who puzzled the whole throughout, 
a letter at a time ; for it is only reasonable to believe, that the man- 
uscript of so wild a writer must have been as difficult to read as it 
is to obtain knowledge from the reading of it in print. For the 
whole to be understood, from the compilation, can certainly be 
nothing more, than it has been composed by a person high in au- 
thority over people, who was made vain with indulgence and suinp- 
tuous fare, and felt desirous of imposing on community tales to 
alarm and stupify them, in order to hold them subservient and trib- 
utary ; and by indulging herself too freely, has rendered herself 
incapable of planning the deceptive fable, so as to have the appear- 
ance of truth or probability. In this chapter she has shown the 
boldness of pretending that a priest had power to cover the land 
with frogs, and another priest had influence with an invisible spirit 
to get them removed ; representing the first priest to have a hand 
many miles long, and frogs as being abundant in unnatural locations, 
and of innocent people being unnaturally burthened with a plague 
of frogs, all proving a deficiency of sober sense in the composer, 
and nothing else. 

The composer appears not yet to have got sober ; but assumes 
to know of a Lord by whose word all the dust of the land of Egypt 
became lice ; and proceeds to state, beyond reasonable doubt, more 
lies, by assuming also to know of a Lord who sent a plague of 
flies, so that the land was corrupted by them. And the composer 
again assumes to know of a Lord who did according to the word 
of Moses, in removing the flies from the king and his people so 
completely that there remained not one ! Surely no sane or sober 
person would ever have written such ridiculous nonsense. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER IX. 

The composer does not yet appear sober ; but is bold enough 
to assume to know of a Lord telling the priest Moses to go to the 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 51 

king of Egypt, and threaten him with a plague of murrain on all 
the cattle, sheep, and camels. And also assumes to know, or 
strives to make all others believe so, that the Lord did that thing 
do, and all the cattle of Egypt died. Next, a plague of boils and 
blains, on man and beast, is stated to have been sent by the same 
spirit that is represented in the work as being full of mercy and 
loving-kindness. Next, the composer endeavors to make people 
believe that she knew of a Lord who gave a man power to help it 
send thunder, hail, and fire, at its desire, along the ground, and 
that hail and fire were mingled, and that the hail broke every tree ! 
Thus any observer may see the want of sober sense in the com- 
poser, who states Moses spread abroad his hands ! to this Lord, 
and the thunder and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on 
the land of Egypt. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER X. 

The composer assumes to know of a Lord telling a priest to go 
to a king, and that this Lord said it had hardened the heart of the 
king, that it might sho\v its signs before him, and that the priest 
might tell in the ears of his son and grandson what it had wrought ; 
and that two priests tell the king this Lord tells them, if he refuse 
to let the people go, it will bring locusts, so that they shall cover 
the face of the earth so that it can not be seen, and they shall eat 
all that escaped from the hail, and every tree^ and fill all houses. 
And this Lord commands the priest to stretch out his hand over 
Egypt. Surely the composer could not have been sober in being 
such a supposer, as to think she could make people believe a priest 
had so large a hand. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XI. 

The composer appears yet to have been such a doser, as to 
have dreamed again that she knew of a God who told a priest it 
would bring one more plague on a king ; and that it also tells the 
priest to speak in the ears of the people, and to let every man and 
woman borrow of their neighbors jewels of silver and gold, and 
that it gave the borrowers favor in the sight of the lenders. And 
the priest tells the people, Thus saith the Lord ! about midnight I 



52 REVIEW OF THE 

will go out, and the first born of the land of Egypt shall die ! from 
the first born of the king that sitteth on his throne, unto the first 
born of the maid behind the mill, and all the first born of beasts 
shall die. And to cap the climax of all this threatening, and to 
compel the king to anything, it is represented that the supposed 
Lord who is described as sending its commanding word, that it 
declares again and again, in connexion with the commands so vain, 
that it will harden the heart of the king, that he shall not conde- 
scend to do anything. It commands by the word of its priests 
(sometimes by one, at other times by two) his majesty to do, that 
the wonders of this portrayed miraculous spirit may be multiplied I 
But, instead of any evidence to this effect being presented, bold, 
manifest proofs appear, that the composer of the story must have 
been bewildered in her imagination. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER XII. 

The composer still exhibits the boldness of assuming to try to 
impress people with the belief, that she knew of a Lord telling two 
priests to tell a congregation that every man shall take a lamb ! a 
lamb for a house, and if the household be too little, his next neigh- 
bor shall take it, every man's according to his eating. Surely the 
composer must have done her part of both eating and drinking, be- 
fore giving way to such thinking. 

The composer gives further proof of not being in suitable 
condition to compose with reason, by striving to make people be- 
lieve that a Lord commands the Iamb shall be without blemish, a 
male of the first year from the goats, and commands people to 
keep it until the fourteenth day ; when on the third day, in sum- 
mer, it ne«ds to be thrown away. An additional absurdity is next 
stated, that the Lord commands that the whole assembly of the 
congregation shall kill it in the evening, and strike the blood on 
the two side posts and upper post of the door of the houses they 
eat it in, and that they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with 
fire, and unleavened bread and bitter herbs ; people are forbidden 
to eat it raw, or sodden with water, but roast with fire ! its head with 
its legs and purtenances thereof. And the queen composer shows 
herself again to have been such a doser, as to imagine she can 
make people believe a Lord commanded nothing should be allowed 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 53 

to remain until morning, and that he said that which did remain 
until the morning, people should burn with fire ! and that this in- 
visible said, *' the people shaD eat it with their loins girded, and 
with shoes on their feet, and their staff in their hand, and com- 
mands that they eat it in haste ! and declares it will pass through 
the land of Egypt in the night, and smite all the first-born, both 
man and beast, and that where it sees the blood it will pass over 
and commands that the people keep a feast to the Lord through- 
out their generations, and that they keep it a feast by an ordinance 
forever; seven days the people are commanded to eat unleavened 
bread ; people are commanded also to dip a bunch of hyssop in 
blood, and to strike the lintel and door-posts with blood, and are 
forbidden to pass through the door until morning, as the Lord will 
pass through to smite people, and when he seeth the blood on the 
doorposts and lintel, will pass over the door ; and people are com- 
manded to observe this for ever ! And the composer appears 
again to have been such a doser, as to have dreamed she could 
make people believe that a Lord was known to smite all the first- 
born of Egypt at midnight ; and that people took their dough before 
it was leavened, with their kneading-troughs bound on their shoul- 
ders ; and that one party borrowed valuables of another party ; 
and that a Lord gave the borrowers favor in the sight of the lend- 
ers, and they spoiled the lenders ! the tribe of borrowers are stated 
to have had 600,000 travelling men among them, in this pretended 
early part of the creation, which plainly exposes the frailty of the 
composer's memory, as most chapters of the work do, by their in- 
numerable repetitions ; this is also seen in this chapter. And the 
composer states tliat a Lord told two priests that no stranger 
should eat of the passover, but every man that they had bought 
for money, and had cut a piece of him, should eat thereof; rep- 
elition is made that it shall be eaten in one house, and the foreig-ner 
and hired servants are not allowed to eat a morsel, neither is any 
one that has not had the knife applied to him to be made some- 
what different to all the genealogy of Adam. Surely all those 
who are willing to exercise their natural sense and be guided by 
reason, must see, when they read the said-to-be Holy Bible, that 
it ought to be put out of use. 



54 REVIEW OF THE 

EXODUS : CHAPTER XIII. 

The composer here shows that she has had a comfortable dose, 
and appears to imagine more kindly than formerly, and states that 
God tells Moses to sanctify both the first-born of man and beast 
unto itself! and this priest commands the people that they set apart 
all the first-born males for the Lord ! and to redeem every firstling 
of an ass, and if they will not redeem it, they shall break its neck ! 
thus the composer does not portray a good character for her hero, 
under the title of Moses or the servant of God, as she often styles 
him. Repetition is again made that the Lord slew all the first- 
born in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast, on account of 
one man not being willing to let people do sacrifice in the w^ilder- 
ness ! But the composer states God led the people about through 
the way of the wilderness of the Red sea ! and they went out of 
Egypt harnessed^ and the Lord went before them. It surely can 
not be justly accounted for why people respect such composition 
or the book containing it, on any other foundation than that they 
do not know its contents, and are guided by what they hear those 
speak out of the least objectionable parts of it, who are interested 
in upholding what they have been brought up to attend to, and 
which constitutes their entire dependance in most instances, and 
on which account many such persons have been enemies to those 
who advocate truth, and despise falsehood and deception; and 
many, it is well known, are the lives that have been sacrificed by 
superstitious bigots. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XIV. 

The composer repeats her old text, that the Lord spake to 
Moses, which a large number of chapters begin with. Pharaoh is 
stated to have taken six hundred chosen chariots and all the char- 
iots of Egypt ! by this statement, the one man is represented to 
have owned six hundred chariots that were in prime order, besides 
those more common, which would be probably one third more. 
Moses tells the people to hold their peace, and that the Lord shall 
fight for them \ thus both priest and queen are represented to 
form a Lord to suit any of their own purposes, in many instances, 
throughout the work. But the next verse represents that the 
Lord took Moses to task for crying unto it ! and commands the 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 55 

priest to direct the people to go forward ! and the priest to lift up 
his rod, and stretch his hand over the sea, and divide it ! and tells 
the priest that the people shall go on dry ground through the nriidst 
of the sea. According to this story, Moses needs to have had a 
hand larger than many an island, and the sea needs to have been 
too shallow to float a log ! and the composer represents her Lord 
as boasting that it will get honor upon Pharaoh and all his hosts, 
horsemen, and chariots ! which logic could scarcely be more im- 
perfect, after having stated the same spirit had all created, and as 
her fiction in its early part stood, the same spirit had destroyed 
nearly all with flood ! and that it should now talk of getting itself 
honor, and making people know who it is. The waters are rep- 
resented to stand in the unnatural position of a wall ! on each side 
of the people, who pass on dry ground through the midst of the 
sea ! this has been stated before, and only keeps pace with the 
general style of the work, which is common with those who act 
under the inspiration of strong drink, making frequent repetitions. 
The composer states the Lord looked through a pillar of fire upon 
the Egyptians, and troubled them, and took off their chariot 
wheels! Here the queen has set. her Lord a great task to perform, 
if there is any truth in the chapter; for if one man drove six hun- 
dred chariots, it is probable tbo whole nation had as many more, 
and if they were four-wheeled chariots, as most have been gener- 
ally so, four thousand eight hundred wheels would have been prob- 
ably very difficult for so delicate a being as can not be seen to 
have taken off from the twelve hundred chariots. The story is 
repeated that the Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand over the 
sea; it certainly would be a great torture to endure, to have a 
hand stretched across a pail of water merely. The Lord, it is 
stated, overthrew people in the midst of the sea, and others saw 
the great work which. the Lord did, for one party were all covered 
with the sea, but the others walked through its midst on dry 
ground ! and the composer of the story states that people feared 
and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. But her state- 
ments and composition throughout plainly show that she did not 
know any of the characters so bunglingly pictured forth, and that 
her principal aim and wish was to stupefy and deceive people, in 
order to make them pay respect and tribute to kings and priests, 
and her confused dishonest desires have ofttimes caused her to lose 
her reason, as most persons who study deception do occasionally. 



56 REVIEW OF THE 

But such a complicated mass of inconsistency as queen Elizabeth 
has left, being published by her successor, and the immense sums 
that have been annually raised to support propagators of the work, 
have caused an incalculable amount of injury, which lunatic 
asylums bear sad evidence of. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER XV. 

In this chapter, it is stated the Lord has thrown the horse and 
his rider into the sea. Surely the man might have been caught by 
the leg before the horse could stir a peg, and been thrown into 
the sea alone, and let the innocent horse go free; and the com- 
poser seems to think it would not the character of her Lord mar 
by styling him boldly a man of war. Repetition is made that one 
party of people had the waters brought on them and were drowned, 
and that another set of people went on dry land through the midst 
of the sea ! and that a prophetess, whose name is recorded, and 
statement also made, in this said to be word of God, whom she 
was sister to, and that she and many women went out with 
timbrels and dances ; the old story of the water of a river being 
bitter is also repeated, therefore it had a name given to it, and that 
the Lord showed the high priest Moses a tree, and he cast it in 
the river, which made the waters sweet ; before this, the people 
had asked Moses what they should drink, and he cried unto the 
Lord. Thus the composer in many other stories, represents people 
mourning at different places, and at different periods suffering for 
want of water, while every beast and bird usually finds water to 
drink ; showing the composition in this instance, like the general part 
of both Bible and Testament, absurdly contrary to reason, nature, 
and all well-known organization, and more so than any sane or 
sober person would attempt to write. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XVI. 



The composer tells the world that the Lord tells Moses it will 
rain down bread from heaven, and that people shall gather at a 
certain rate every day, and on the sixth day it shall be twice as 
much as they gather daily. Comment : All who have had ev- 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 57 

idence of such supply being provided, ought of course pay respect 
accordingly to the donor and the seventh day. But those who 
have to work to procure sustenance, must know by experience 
that they do not obtain either food, clothing, or shelter, on any 
day, without their own effort ; consequently there could be no evil 
in striving to earn their expenses on any day, as no one can live 
on wind either Sunday or Monday. But as one day has been set 
apart out of seven for rest, it ought to be kept free from disturb- 
ance out of respect to the generality of society, as a good rule, 
and those who by noise or rude behavior offend or disturb others 
must expect to lose their respect. Moses tells his brother, to tell 
the people, that the Lord tells him, it had heard the murmuring 
of the people, and that he tells him to tell them they shall eat flesh 
in the evening, and that they shall be filled with bread in the 
morning. So to make the story good, quails were sent for food, 
covering the camp, so that people could eat as they stood on 
their feet, without taking a tramp, and also a small round thing 
appeared on the ground, which no one did bring, and Moses tells 
them that is the bread the Lord has sent them ; the taste of it was 
like wafers ; and Moses tells his brother to take a pot and put 
some in and lay it up before the Lord, as the Lord commanded 
Moses ; so Aaron laid it up to be kept for generations, according 
to the Lord's command given to Moses. Want of sober sense is 
manifestly shown in this chapter. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER XVII. 

The old story of people murmuring for want of water is con- 
tinued, thus representing their senses and capacities inferior to 
those of dumb animals. The silly pretence of Moses and an in- 
visible spirit holding conversation about the want of water, Moses 
telling it, the people are almost ready to stone him ! and the spirit 
telling Moses to take his stand, with his magic rod in hand that 
he smote the river with, and it would stand before him on the 
rock, which he shall smite, and water shall come out of it that the 
people may drink ! and the composer assumes to know that all 
turned out so. But the story does more manifestly show ! that 
the composer did the tricks of legerdemain better know, than 



58 REVIEW OF THE 

what was the form, size, or color, of her invisible spirit. Verse 
nine, the composer states that Moses, whom she oft styles the ser- 
vant of God, sends men to fight, and promises to stand with the 
rod of God in hand, on the top of a hill, of course to see how 
many the prophet Joshua would kill; and the composer shows 
herself to be so vain a supposer, as to make believe that when 
Moses, her hero, held up his hand, his army prevailed, and when 
he let down his hand, the other party prevailed ; and she shows 
that her head was so heavy as to let her state that that was the 
case with the hand of the hero of the book, and that he sat 
on a stone and two men stayed up his hands, and the opposite 
party were discomfited by the edge of the sword ! and the com- 
poser assumes to know of a Lord, who told her hero Moses to 
write this in a book ! and rehearse it in the ears of his commander 
Joshua, and declares it will utterly put out the remembrance of 
one set of people. Surely this chapter, like the preceding ones, 
proves lack of sober sense in its composer. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER XVIII. 



MosES goes to meet his father-in-law, and kissed him. It is not 
pretended that any God or Lord spake one word of this chapter. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XIX. 

The composer does boldly assume to know that her hero, Mo- 
ses, Went up to God ! and that the Lord called to him out of the 
mountain, telling him to tell people what it did to another party of 
people, and how it bore him on eagles' wings to itself. And the 
composer also assumes to know of a Lord telling Moses that it 
came unto him in a thick cloud, and who tells him to sanctify the 
people and let them wash their clothes, and that the Lord will 
come down on the third day. But no evidence has been given to 
any man or lass that this ever came to pass ! although wrote more 
than three hundred years ago. And this Lord, of whom the com- 
poser assumes to know innumerable particulars, and makes state- 
ment that it is full of mercy and loving-kindness, is represented to 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT 59 

declare, that whosoever touches the mounr shall be stoned or shot 
through, whether it be beast or man ! and let the priests who come 
near sanctify themselves ! lest the Lord break through upon them. 
Moses is stated to have demurred against the Lord's commands 
in person. And the Lord commands him to get down ! and come 
up ! and to bring his brother with him ; but not to let the priests 
and people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break 
forth upon them ! 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XX. 



The composer assumes to know that a God spake all the chap- 
ter, and that it styled itself a jealous God, and that it said it would 
visit the sins of fathers unto the fourth generation. [Comment : 
Surely the composer must have fancied she knew a different God 
than the one that is declared to be full of mercy and loving-kind- 
ness ! and slow to anger ! as the one here treated of dooms unborn 
children to punishment, and shows itself to be unjustly premature 
in anger, and totally deficient of mercy.] Moses is stated to have 
drawn near the thick darkness where God was ! and that God tells 
Moses to tell people that they had seen that it had talked with him 
from heaven ! and commands that the people shall sacrifice burnt- 
offerings of sheep and oxen in all places where it records its name ! 
and forbids having a tool lifted, declaring that it would pollute the al- 
tar ; and forbids steps likewise. Here the composer differs much 
from her general style of portraying imaginary sacred buildings, as 
most of them throughout the work are described as being pom- 
pously extravagant ! But the extravagant demands of useless and 
wasteful burnt-sacrifices appear to be fully kept up, as it sets an 
example and encouragement for all priests that succeed the fabled 
Moses to pretend that the name of a Creator of the universe is 
recorded where they may be, in order to stupify people, and cause 
them to be willing to give the fruits of their industry to support the 
expenses of numerous places where such an unmeaning word is 
recorded ! or preached ; and plainly shows that the wish and aim 
of the composer was to have people frightened by the stories of 
priests, that they might be held tributary. 



60 REVIEW OF THE 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XXI. 



This treats of buying servants ; and the law is stated to be 
spoken by God : That, if a servant has had a wife given him by 
his master, and she has borne him children, the wife and the chil- 
dren shall be his master's ! and he shall go away by himself; but 
if he say, I love my master, my wife, and children, and will not 
go, then his master shall bring him to the door-post, and thrust an 
awl through his ear, and he shall serve his master for ever ! This 
is allowing men to be held as slaves with the highest supposed au- 
thority to witness ! and according to its reputed commands. And 
also for the one and the same poor fellow, who had his ear thrust 
through with an awl, because he would not forsake his wife and 
their children, he is doomed to serve millions of years as a slave, 
longer than the fabled Methusalem is stated to have lived ! And 
if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, if she does not 
please her master who has betrothed her to himself, he shall sell 
her to a strange nation ! Thus the composer shows but litde re- 
spect for her fellow-beings, which is generally the practice with those 
whom people have caused to be vain and ambitious by giving them 
too much wealth and power. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XXH. 



This chapter forbids people eating flesh that is torn in the field, 
and commands that it be given to dogs. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER XXIII. 



MosES commands that the land be sown six years, and that it 
shall lie still the seventh ; and that all males shall appear three 
times in a year before the Lord God ! and prophecies it shall bless 
their bread and water. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XXIV. 



The composer assumes to know of a Lord who told a man that 
it would give him tables of stone, and a law, and commandments, 
which it had written, that he might teach them ; and that the man 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 61 

. went up into the mount of God, and a cloud covered it six days ! 
, and that on the seventh day it called unto Moses out of the midst 

of the cloud ; and Moses was in the mount forty days and nights. 

Comment : The composer appears to have forgotten that she gave 
> an account of the commandments in the twentieth chapter. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XXV. 

The composer again assumes to know of a Lord telling the man 
Moses to tell the people to bring it offerings of gold, silver, brass, 
blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen, and ramskins dyed red, and 
badgers' skins, and shittim-wood, oil for the light, spices for the 
anointing oil and for sweet incense, onyx stones, and stones to be 
set in the ephod, and in the breastplate, and let them make it a 
sanctuary, that it may dwell among them ! According to all it is 
stated, this supposed invisible spirit will show the man after the 
pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments 
thereof. Even so shall ye make it ! it is stated this supposed spirit 
says ! Thirty-one more verses are filled with directions the most 
extravagant and silly imaginable, all stated to have been spoken by 
no one knows who, and are far from being a credit to any real or 
imaginary being, and plainly show that the composer did earthly 
extravagance well know. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER XXVI. 

This chapter contains thirty-seven verses of the same description 
of extravagant and tawdry appendages, similar to those stated to 
have been given as commands, and demands, from a spirit not yet 
discovered ; and does more plainly show, that the composer of the 
wild nonsense did know much about the extravagances of earthly 
courts, and probably most about that of St. Jtmes, in London, and 
the palace she resided in there. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XXVII. 



This chapter contains twenty-seven verses of the same kind as 
vhe two preceding ones, and tedious to read ! 



62 REVIEW OF THE 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XXVIII. 



This chapter contains forty-eight verses similar to the three pre- 
ceding chapters, but not so much about tawdry curtains of goats' 
hair, or coverings of rams' skins, treating more of priests' clothing 
and decoration. The former three chapters are principally respect- 
ing a fabled tabernacle. In this chapter, the composer assumes to 
know of a Lord telling Moses to take unto him his brother Aaron, 
and his sons, from among the common people, that he may minis- 
ter unto it in the priest's office ! The public may probably remem- 
ber, that a pretty miss of fifteen was administered unto in a priest's 
office, at Rochester, a few years ago, by a said-to-be-reverend di- 
vine ; which is but a solitary instance of the numerous cases that 
have come to light of the serious evils arising from freeing men 
from useful industry, and maintaining them for preaching what they 
can not know, and what must be extremely difficult for them to be- 
lieve true or useful. The composer of this chapter appears to show 
the strongest proofs of a mind injured by indolence and dissipation 
in high life, and fills forty-three verses with the same description — 
with repetitions of the most extravagant nonsense imaginable l 
enough to tire the patience of the most simple reader. The com- 
poser, in her wild imaginings, boldly assumes to know of an invis- 
ible Lord, who gave command that holy garments for glory and 
beauty should be made for a priest and his sons in which to min- 
ister unto it ; and that the invisible says, these are the garments 
which the people shall make for them : a breastplate, and an ephod, 
and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle. And the caption of the 
wild command is repeated (thus) : And they shall make holy gar- 
ments for Aaron, thy brother, and his sons ! that he may minister 
unto me in the priest's office ! plainly showing that the composer 
was well acquainted with the follies and extravagances of mankind, 
and that she was bewildered with indulgences that freed her from 
useful industry ! Cunning work and embroidery are treated of in 
this chapter repeatedly, as they are in some others ; and as men 
do neither work at embroidery, nor talk, nor write about it, such 
statements corroborate to prove the confession in the Bible preface, 
that Queen Elizabeth left the writings that her successor had pub- 
lished, which form the bible that has been in use since that simple 
monarch's reign. After the queen has filled thirty-nine verses in 
this chapter with descriptions according to her disordered imagina- 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 63 

tion — ^that an invisible Lord had given people commands to make 
for a priest a robe with a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden 
bell and a pomegranate alternately around the hem of the robe, which 
before has been described as being also embroidered — this fabled, 
tawdry robe is stated to be commanded to be put on Aaron, that 
his sound may be heard when he comes, and when he goes into 
the holy place before the Lord, and when he goes out, that he die 
not. A plate of pure gold is also commanded to be made, to have 
engraved on it holiness to the Lord ! with a blue lace upon it; 
and an equally tawdry mitre is commanded to be put on the priest's 
head, that he bear the iniquity of the holy things. It is also com- 
manded that it shall always be on his forehead ! that the whole of 
the tawdry appendages may be accepted before the Lord ! Much 
more is stated to have been commanded to ornament both the 
magic coat and robe. In verse forty, repetition is again made of 
commands said to be given by an invisible spirit, which is repre- 
sented in the work as all wise, that it commands people to make 
for a priest and his sons coats, girdles, and bonnets, for glory and 
beauty ; which is a repetition of the second verse of this chapter ! 
Linen breeches are also commanded to be made for them, with 
special command that they shall reach from the loins to the thighs! 
and that they shall have them on when they minister in the holy 
place, to hide their nakedness ! that they bear not iniquity and die ! 
It shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed ! Comment : 
Such wild nonsense, as this chapter and most others contain, surely 
ought to convince every well wisher of his race, that the sooner the 
work is put out of use it will be the better for mankind. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XXIX. 

The composer again assumes to know of an invisible Lord, 
who commands that two rams and a young bullock without blem- 
ish, and unleavened bread, and cakes, tempered with oil and wheat 
flour, shall be brought in a basket, by the priest and his sons, to 
the door of the tabernacle ; and that Moses shall wash his brother 
priest and his sons, who are also described as priests, with water ! 
and this supposed invisible is stated also to command that the robe, 
coat, ephod, breastplate, &c., be put on the father priest, and that 



64 REVIEW OF THE 

he begirded with the curious girdle of the ephod ! with the mitre 
and crown upon his head ! and, to give this crazy statement a 
gloss, oil is commanded to be poured on the head of the priest 
thus gaudily bedecked. In verse eight, repetition is again made 
that the sons of this bedecked and greasy priest shall have bonnets 
and coats put on them, and be also girdled as well as their father, 
and that the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute ! 
Repetition is made, " Thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons;" 
another bullock is commanded to be killed before the Lord, and 
that some blood shall be put with the priest's finger on the horns 
of the altar, and that the fat of the inwards, and the caul and kid- 
neys, and the fat that is on them, shall be burnt. " But the flesh 
of the bullock and his skin and dung shall be burnt with fire ! it 
is a sin-offering ; thou shalt also take one ram, and the father priest 
and his four sons shall put their hands on its head ! and thou 
shalt slay the ram in pieces, and wash its inwards and legs, and 
put them unto its pieces and head, and shalt burn the whole ram ! 
it is a burnt-offering unto the Lord : it is a sweet savor !" More 
is stated of similar nonsense, and in verse nineteen a revival of the 
story, but not to the glory of the queen, or any thing that is visible 
or unseen. — Verse nineteen : " And thou shalt take the other ram ! 
and Aaron and his sons shalt put their hands on its heart ! and take 
of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ears of Aaron and 
his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the Great 
Toes of their right feet ! and sprinkle the blood round about on 
the altar, and thou shalt sprinkle blood and oil upon Aaron and 
his sons, and on all their garments ! Comment : What a ludicrous 
and laughable representation is here pictured, in a book called 
holy and sacred, too ridiculous to be countenanced, and yet de- 
clared to be the writings of persons under holy inspiration ! while 
one perusal must convince every unprejudiced observer, that the 
only inspiration it could have been written under must have been 
that of strong stimulating drink, as no one person could at any 
time probably have been found who would have had the wild 
imagination requisite to have enabled them to compose with so 
much flight of fancy ! while sane and sober ; the boldness to com- 
mit such wild imaginings would unquestionably have been want- 
ing by every person while sober. Fifteen verses more of similar 
composition to the above are in this chapter. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 65 

EXODUS: CHAPTER XXX. 

An altar of wood is stated to have been commanded to be made, 
to burn incense on ; its dimensions are specified, and the com- 
poser shows that in this instance her senses were not so much 
overpowered as to prevent her from considering wood would burn ! 
so she gives the story a more probable turn ! that the wooden altar 
shall be covered with gold, as the first story would have been a 
bad one to be told ; even the horns of the altar are to be covered 
with gold. And a great variety of extravagant nonsense about this 
imaginary altar, is to be found in this chapter, the composer doth 
state, and in an equally silly manner to the inebriates prate ; and 
that people are commanded to make to it a crown of gold round 
about, and two gold rings, and gold on other things appertaining 
thereunto ; all is calculated to make a brilliant show, adding to 
numerous former proofs that the composer knew more of earthly 
grandeur than most of her age. 

The priest is commanded to burn sweet incense every morning 
when he lights the lamps — a perpetual incense before the Lord ! 
and to make an atonement once in a year, on the horns of the altar, 
with blood ; summing up with, " it is most holy unto the Lord !" 
who tells Moses that every one shall give half a shekel unto the 
Lord ; the rich shall not give more, nor the poor less. A great 
lack of sober sense is plainly exhibited here. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER XXXI. 

The composer assumes to know of a Lord who told a man that 
it had filled another man with knowledge of all manner of work- 
manship, to devise cunning work in gold, silver, and brass, and 
cutting of stones to set them in, and carving timber. Surely his 
fingers would not be limber enough, when he had worked hard 
and rough, to work cunningly fine work in gold, as that would be 
difficult for clumsy fingers to hold. But it is stated God had 
given another man, from the tribe of the people of Dan. Rep- 
etition is made about the priest's holy garments, incense, oil, and 
holy place, and that whosoever doeth any work on the sabbath 
shall surely be put to death ! and that two stone tables were given 
to the murderer Moses by the Lord ! written with the finger of 
God ! thus the composer of the work, as she proceeds with her 

5 



66 XEVIEW OF THE 

t 

fiction, continually strives to make people believe that an invisible 
God performed impossibilities, and that priests were its ordained 
and inspired servants ! and people adored them, and were humble 
servants to kings, queen, and priests ! 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XXXII. 

A PRIEST persuades people to give him their gold jewels, and 
he would make a calf of them, and he made proclamation thai 
they hold a feast on the morrow to the Lord ! and when the peo- 
ple brought offerings, it is stated, the Lord told Moses to get down 
from the mount to his people, for they worshipped a molten calf! 
and that they were a stiff-necked people. " Now therefore let me 
alone ! that my wrath may wax hot ! and that I may consume 
them! and I will make of thee a great nation !" but Moses asks It 
why its wrath waxed hot against its own people ! and commands 
it to turn from its fierce wrath ! and repent of its evil against its 
people ! and to remember Abraham, alias Abram, Isaac, and 
Israel, and reminds it that it sware by itself to them that it would 
multiply their seed as the stars ! and that it would also give them 
and their seed all the land it had spoken of for an everlasting in- 
heritance. And the Lord is represented to have repented of the 
evil which it thought to do unto his people. And Moses the 
priest went down from the mount with the two stone tables in his 
hand, the work of God ! who had also engraved on them ; and 
when Moses saw the people merry, his wrath waxed hot, and he 
threw the magic stone tables down and broke them, and seized the 
gold calf, and said, " Thus saith the Lord ! put every man his 
sword by his side ! and slay every neighbor, companion, and 
brother !" and that day fell about three thousand, for Moses had 
told them to consecrate themselves to the Lord that day ! and 
Moses tells the Lord that the people have made gods of gold, and 
the Lord plagued the people because they made the calf which 
Aaron made! Surely the composer has not yet shown sober 
sense, but on the contrary a full display of wild imagination and 
boldness, that has never been equalled in the productions of any 
sober or sane person's works. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 67 



EXODUS: CHAPTER XXXIII. 



The composer again assumes to know of a Lord that tells a 
priest to depart with the people of Egypt to the land it sware 
unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ! and it would send an angel be- 
fore him. The old story is repeated, that it would drive the six 
tribes of bites out of a land flowing with milk and honey, for they 
are a stiff-necked people ! lest I consume thee in the way ! And 
the people mourned, and stripped themselves of their ornaments. 

The composer shows forgetfulness in this story, as usual, for she 
had stated in the previous chapter that two priests had cunningly 
contrived to cheat the people out of their golden ornaments — in 
the tale of the gold calf, which is sufficient to make any one laugh. 
In verse eleventh it is stated the Lord talked with Moses face to 
face ! as a man speaketh to his friend, and told him it knew him 
by name ! and told Moses he could not see his face, for no man 
should see him and live ; and directs Moses to stand upon a rock 
that was near, and it would put him in its cleft ! and hide him with 
its hand as it passed by ! and it would take its hand away, and 
Moses should see his hinder 'parts. But its face should not be 
seen ! After all these statements of the composer, aiming to make 
people believe that a God was known to some few and invisible to 
all others, and that it publicly declared no man should have a 
glimpse of it and live, many are the fabled statements of its being 
remarkably sociable with both men and women, conversing freely 
with them on trifling occasions, all showing want of sober sense in 
the composer (and her scribe, if she had any). 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The composer assumes to know of a Lord who told a priest to 
hew two stone stables, and that it would write on them the same 
words that were in the first two that he brake ; and that it also 
told the man to be ready in the morning, and come up to the 
mount Sinai, and present himself on its top ; and commands 
that no man come with this one, and forbids any one else being 
seen throughout the mount, and also forbids flocks or herds feed- 
ing before the mount, after Moses had taken the stone tables in 



68 REVIEW OF THE 

his hand to the mountain top. It is stated the Lord descended 
in the cloud, and stood with the hewer of stone, and there pro- 
claimed the name of the Lord — the Lord God merciful and gra- 
cious, of long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, visit- 
ing the iniquity of fathers unto the fourth generation. [Comment : 
A greater contradiction of character would scarcely ever be boasted 
of or prated by any one inebriated.] In verse eleventh repetition 
is made, that the merciful character treated above drives from 
their homes the six tribes of hites, again proving plainly that the 
composition proceeded from one disordered mind thus far, and all 
succeeding parts of the work indicate they are formed from the 
same source. Repetition is also made in this chapter that all the 
first born belong to this Lord, and that the firstling of an ass shall 
be redeemed with a lamb, thus pretending twice that his lordship 
did not choose to receive the long-eared animal to its throne ; and 
the same proviso is repeated that has been declared the Lord 
spake before, that if people would not redeem the young ass with 
a lamb, then they should break the neck of it ; all showing a lack 
of sober sense, like former chapters. , 

Repetition is made, that the Lord tells Moses that thrice in a 
year shall all men children appear before the Lord God, the God 
of Israel ! [Comment : Thus the composer has practised making 
free use of long titles, which, it is evident, has been resorted to for 
the purpose of making serious, fearful impressions on the minds of 
people whom the composer's experience had shown her were 
affected by such bold artifice.] The first of the fruits of the land, 
it is stated, were commanded to be brought to the house of the in- 
visible spirit portrayed by the double title of Lord God. And that 
it tells Moses, the murderer, to write some words, and that this 
man was with the Lord forty days and nights, without' eating bread 
or drinking water ! and wrote the ten commandments on stone ta- 
bles ; and when he came down from the mount with them in his 
hand, his face shone so much that his people were afraid of him, 
and he was ashamed of it, and wore a vail. But when he went in 
before the Lord he took off the vail, to speak to it ! Thus the 
composer, in addition to forming an absurdly inconsistent story, 
shows, as usual, forgetfulness, as she stated, in the twentieth chap- 
ter that the ten commandments were then given to the people, 
with a terrible witness to their sight ! enough any one to fright ! 
and also to make them remember, through every succeeding June 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 69 

and December, of thunderings, lightnings, and noise of trumpet, 
and mountains smoking. And then they begged the man Mo- 
ses to speak with them, but not to let God! Thus the com- 
poser strives to make it appear that people were afraid of that 
which was not near, and never was known to them, or anybody 
else — that part of the tale which pictures the servant of God so 
frail, as to get his face so much to shine, when he for forty days 
did dine without bread or water, that he was aware that too rich 
fare had caused his face to show to the people his disgrace, that, 
in spite of every artful tale, it was necessary for him to wear a 
vail, as people were of him so shy that they durst not to him 
come nigh ; but when he went to speak a word before a sup- 
posed invisible Lord, who had previously declared no man should 
see it and live, he then made bold to uncover his face, as he was 
not afraid of getting further disgrace. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER XXXVI. 

This chapter contains a repetition of the former story of a Lord 
giving understanding to men to do all manner of work, and that 
each man who worked at the sanctuary made ten curtains of fine 
twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and cherubims of 
cunning work ! Thirty more verses are filled with the same ex- 
travagant style of inconsistencies ; but the composer has not shown 
the boldness of stating that she knew any Lord or God spake one 
word of the chapter, no doubt recollecting that enough had been 
said of such a supposed spirit in most of the preceding chapters. 



EXODUS : CHAPTER XXXVII. 



This chapter contains twenty-nine verses of similar extravagant 
descriptions of buildings and appendages as specified in the last 
chapter, ending with, He made oil and spices, according to the art 
of the apothecary. 



70 REVIEW OF THE 

EXODUS: CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

This chapter contains thirty-one verses of similar composition 
to the last two preceding chapters, and is also free from the bold 
assumption that a God or Lord spake one word of the chapter. 



EXODUS: CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The clothes of service, holy garments, ephod, breastplate, the 
robe of the ephod, the coat, mitre, girdle, plate of the holy crown, 
onyx stones, ouches of gold, the sardius, topaz, carbuncle, the em- 
erald, sapphire, diamond, ligure, agate, amethyst, the chains of 
wreathen work of pure gold, and the rings of gold, with the blue, 
purple, scarlet, and fine linen, are all stated to have been examined 
and approved by the hero of the story. And repetition is made of 
the fanciful, extravagant story about the high priest's embroidered 
robe, with a golden bell and a pomegranate alternately around the 
'hem, and coats of fine linen for his sons, with linen breeches, goodly 
bonnets, and a fine linen girdle of blue, purple, and scarlet ; also a 
plate of pure gold, with the holy crown, trimmed with lace of blue l 
Comment : As all these grand, holy appendages have been stated 
(in the twenty-eighth chapter) as having been made by the people, 
and the same inscription engraved on the gold plate of the holy 
crown, it would certainly have made a rather more plausible story, 
had it been stated the same appendages served for the same service 
on this occasion as the previous one. But throughout the work 
the composer has resorted frequently to repetition, which can be 
discerned by perusal. 



EXODUS: CHAPTEl^ XL. 

The composer assumes to know that a Lord spoke to the man 
Moses, telling him to set up the tabernacle on the first day of the 
first month ! and to put the ark in it, and cover the ark with the 
vail ; and to bring in the table and set it in order, and the things 
that are to be set in order on it ; and to bring in the candlesticks, 
and light the lamps thereof; and to set the altar of gold for the 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 71 

incense before the ark ; and to put the hanging of the door to the 
tabernacle, and set the altar of the burnt-offering before the door 
of the tabernacle of the tent ! and the laver between the tent and 
the altar, and pour water therein, and set up the court round about ; 
and hang up the hangings at the court-gate, and anoint the taberna- 
cle with oil, and all within it. And the composer shows v/ild bold- 
ness enough to state, that the same invisible spirit that is repre- 
sented to have made all things in six days, its own throne and foot- 
stool also, sums up, as finishing all the above absurd tales, that this 
fabled tent and tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof, shall be most 
holy ! and that the laver and its foot shall be anointed and sancti- 
fied. Repetition is made in verse twelfth, that this supposed-to-be 
Lord commands that a certain man shall bring his brother and 
nephews to the door of the tabernacle and wash them with water ! 
and put holy garments on his brother, that he may minister unto 
this supposed invisible in the priest's office ! which laughable, ab- 
surd story surely does not convey glory to a spirit that could make 
all to please itself, without the aid of either Moses or Aaron, ac- 
cording to the power that is attributed to it in the same book. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER I. 



The composer assumes to know of a Lord calling unto the man 
Moses out of a tabernacle, telHng him to tell people, if they bring 
an offering to the Lord, it must be of the cattle, even of the herd 
of the flock, a mal« v/ithout blemish, and commands that the man 
shall put his hand on its head ! and it shall be accepted as an 
atonement ; and this Lord is stated to command the man to kill 
the bullock before the Lord ! and the ridiculous story is repeated, 
that Aaron, the priest, and his sons, shall sprinkle the blood round 
about on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle. Repeti- 
tion is also made, that the man shall slay the offering and cut it in 
pieces ! Command is also stated to have been given, that the 
young priests, who were recently described as being bedecked with 
goodly bonnets, linen breeches, girdles, and ether equipments and 
ornaments, for glory and beauty, shall put fire on the altar, and lay 



72 REVIEW OF THE 

the wood in order on the fire, and that their father shall lay the 
head, and the fat, and the parts of the bullock, in order upon the 
fire, and wood that is upon the altar. This old priest is the same 
personage represented to have been gaudily bedecked in the thirty- 
ninth of Exodus, and also in a former chapter of that book, with 
linen breeches, and an embroidered robe with a gold bell and pome- 
granate alternately around its hem, that he may be heard when he 
comes in the holy place to minister unto the Lord! But the in- 
wards and legs of the bullock are commanded to be washed in 
water, as before stated. After all the commands about cutting the 
bullock in pieces, and laying its head, fat, and all the parts in or- 
der, all is commanded to be burnt ! and declaration made, that it 
is a sweet savor unto the Lord ! And if the sacrifice to the Lord 
be of fowls, it shall be of doves or pigeons ; and the priest shall 
wring off its head, and burn it, and pluck away his crop and 
feathers, and cleave it with its wings, but • shall not divide it asun- 
der : it is burnt sacrifice, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER II. 



This is the same style of composition as the first, and also re- 
lates to burnt-ofierings, being sweet savors unto the Lord ; meat- 
offerings of flour mingled with oil, or wafers and oil. People are 
allowed the privilege of baking what is extorted from them for burnt- 
offerings, in an oven, or pan, or to fry them in the frying-pan. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER HI. 

The third chapter is similar composition to the two preceding 
ones : statements of burnt-offerings being sweet savor unto the 
Lord. But surely, such occurrences would be felt as grievous, 
unnecessary waste to husbandmen, who had toiled to feed them. 
The priests are commanded to sprinkle the blood. Special com- 
mand is also given them respecting the fat, inwards, kidneys, flanks, 
caul, liver, rump ; and to take off the fat hard by the backbone. 
All the fat is the Lord's. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. . 73 

The word Lord is inserted ten times, with pretence that it gave cona- 
mand for property to be burned for a sweet savor unto it ! and to have 
the blood sprinkled round about on the altar ; and that the fat and the 
rump shall be taken off, hard by the backbone ; and the fat of the in- 
wards ; and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by 
the flanks ; and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he 
take away ! It is the food of the offering made by j5re unto the Lord ! 
and if his offering be a goat, he shall offer it before the Lord, even by 
fire unto the Lord ! The nonsense is repeated about the kidneys, and 
the fat that is on thjem by the flanks ;'^and caul, above the liver, with 
the kidneys, it shall he take away and burn on the altar ! it is the food 
of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor ; all the fat is the 
Lord's ! it shall be a perpetual statute. Surely the composer must 
have been perpetually intoxicated. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER IV. 

.It is represented, again, that a lord speaks to the murderer Moses, 
commanding more sacrifices ; and that a priest kill a young bullock 
before the Lord, and sprinkle the blood seven times with his finger 
before the Lord. The same absurdities are repeated about kidneys, 
inwards, fat, head, legs, &c., &c., as were sundry times repeated in 
the third chapter. Repetition is also made of killing the bullock be- 
fore the Lord, and of sprinkling the blood seven times. Blood is also 
commanded to be put on the horns of the altar before the Lord. 
Thirty- five verses are filled with the same kind of composition, show- 
ing clearly a lack of sober reflection in the composer, and answering 
no other purpose but to confuse the reader, in order that he may leave 
the study of the book to those appointed to preach from it. 



LEVITICUS i CHAPTER V. 

Offerings are again treated of; and if the priest cannot get a large 
sacrifice from a man, the queen allows him to take a smaller one, such 
as two doves, or pigeons, and wring off its head, and sprinkle the blood 
on the altar ; then the man"! is to be forgiven. Four times in this 
chapter the queen allows her aid, the priest, the power of forgiving 

6 



74 'REVIEW OF THE 

sins ! under pretence that the Lord gave a murderer these commands ; 
and that one of these commands of sacrifices is allowed by the Lord 
to be worth a certain weight of silver, according to the murderer's 
estimation ; all showing, as the previous part of the work manifestly 
does^ that the confession in the bible preface, that a reigning monarch 
left the, work that was dedicated to King James|after the decease of its 
authoress, which forms the bible now in use. 



LEVITICUS: CHAPTER VI. • 

It is represented that a lord tells Moses the murderer that a man 
who hath committed a trespass, he shall bring a ram to the priest, who 
shall make an atonement for him before the Lord, and it shall be for- 
given him for all that he hath done. Here the queen composer mani- 
festly strives to make her subjects believe that her aids, the priests, 
are superior to their fellow-beings, which hath been well attempted in 
the fifth chapter, and pretends that the Lord commands the priest to 
put on his linen breeches beside the altar. The priest is the same man 
treated of in the twenty-eighth of Exodus as being bedecked with a 
broidered coat, broidered robe hung around with gold bells, a mitre, a 
girdle, and linen breeches reaching from the loins to the thighs, to be 
on him when coming into the holy place to administer, that he do not* 
die ! In this chapter he is commanded to take up the ashes. Surely 
this does not comport with the character that is represented to have 
made the earth on the first day of the year one, to give such ludicrous 
commands to a man. 



LEVITICUS: CHAPTER VII. 

Offerings are again treated of, through thirty-eight verses, under 
the same pretence that hath been stated in the six preceding chapters 
and in the same style of absurdity, such as killing and burning of use- 
ful valuable animals, before the same invisible spirit that is stated 
them created ; but if this could be true, the owners, who had toiled to 
feed and rear them, would have cause to rue ; about the conduct and 
commands of a supposed invisible, that the composer makes such a 
contradictory portray of, as in another part of her work she states it 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 75 

is full of mercy and loving kindness, rams, lambs, bullocks, calves, 
kids, goats, meat offerings mingled v^ith oil, dipping of fingers in blood, 
and putting it on the horns of the altar, fat, kidneys, caul, liver, flesh, 
hide, spices, washing of inwards and legs, &c., &c., are all again 
treated of: surely the composer was in such condition and state of mind, 
as to suppose she could make her subjects believe any fable by the aid 
of priests. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER VIII. 

It is stated that the Lord tells the murderer Moses to take his broth- 
er and nephews, and the garments ; this, of course, must refer to the 
robe hung round with gold bells and the short linen breeches, bonnets, 
&c., that the composer stated in the twenty-eighth of Exodus, God 
gave commands to the murderer Moses should be made for his brother 
and nephews, for glory and beauty ! oil, and a bullock, and two rams, 
and a basket of bread, are also commanded to be brought to the taber- 
nacle, so a golden plate and an holy crown were brought with them ; 
thus it is shown that the queen, to whom a rich crown was known, 
often treats of such monarchical ornament, and strives to make people 
adorn monarchs and priests. 



LEVITICUS: CHAPTER IX. 

Offerings are treated of through twenty-four verses in the same 
inconsistent style as in the preceding eight chapters, such as burning 
of animals before the Lord ; according to its command, and sprinkling 
of blood with fingers and putting it on the altar, and burning the flesh 
and the hide, and washing the legs and the inwards, and of two priests 
blessing the people, and of fire coming out before the Lord and con- 
suming the offering and fat. Surely congregations ought to relieve 
their lecturers from the puzzle of forming sermons out of such ridicu- 
lous fftbles. 



76 REVIEW OF THE 

LEVITICUS : CHAPTER X. 

It is stated, the Lord burnt two of its young priests, and said it 
would be glorified ! Surely such treatment could not have been mer- 
ciful or kind, and similar inconsistencies constitute a large portion of 
the work Elizabeth left : the priests are allowed to eat the breast and 
shoulder in a clean place. The queen in this instance, as in numerous 
others, shows that she felt desirous, priests should be well fed, from the 
industry of other people. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTEPv XL 

It is again pretended that an invisible Lord spake to the murderer 
Moses, and told him what might be eaten and what not ; swine, on 
which most persons like to dine, are forbidden ; but flying, creeping 
things that go on all fours and have legs above their feet, them maj'- be 
eat ; even the bald beetle, and grasshopper, but those who go on four 
paws are stated to be unclean. Surely people's palates would teach 
them what was most ageeeable, better than the experience and wild 
imaginations of an enthusiastic queen. 



' LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XH. 

It is again pretended that an invisible Lord spake to the fabled 
murderer Moses, telling him that when a woman, gives birth to a child, 
she shall bring a lamb and a pigeon or dove to the priest ! and he shall 
make an atonement for her. This appears as though the composer had 
forgotten her fable in the first chapter of Genesis, that the woman was 
commanded to be fruitful ; the composer also shows, as she does in 
most parts of the work she left, that she wanted people to pay adora- 
tion to priests, as they aided to keep her subjects subservient and trib- 
utary through fear. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XlIL 

Rules are laid down through fifty-nine verses for priests to be the 
judges of leprosy in people. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT.' 77 

LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XIV. 

It is stated the Lord tells the murderer Moses the leper shall be 
brought to the priest ! and if the leprosy be cleansed, the priest shall 
command two live birds and*cedar wood, scarlet, and hysop ; the bird 
to be killed in an earthen vessel over running water, and to dip the 
living bird, cedar wood, scarlet and hysop in the blood of the other 
bird and sprinkle on the leper that is to be cleansed seven times, and 
pronounce him clean ! Thus the queen as usual, through the work 
she left, in this chapter shows she wished to make her subjects believe 
her priests were of extraordinary great importance, and that they had 
constant intercourse with an invisible Lord. Who she strove to make 
them believe made all that is known to exist, and an immensity that no 
one can discern ; and she appears to be so much infatuated with th^ 
color of her officers coats, that she frequently treats of the adjective 
scarlet, as a substantive. The composer hath boldly shown her dis- 
ordered imagination, by stating the Lord commanded a priest to take 
log oil in the palm of his left hand and sprinkle it seven times before 
the Lord, and put some on the right ear, thumb, and great toe of the 
leper, and pour the rest on his head, and pronounce him clean ! after 
he hath made an atonement with burnt offerrings ; but if he be poor 
and cannot give much, he must take from him what he can, and then he 
shall be a clean man ! Right kind of doctrine for a monarch to lay 
down, and priests and thenjselves to live by. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XV. " 

The composer continues to show that she thought people could be 
made to believe that her fabled lord is yet very sociable with the mur- 
derer Moses, and that it tells him and his brother to tell people, that if 
any of them have a running issue he is unclean ! and all that he sitteth 
on, and the saddle he rideth on, shall be unclean. Verses 16 and 17 
are indecent, as are also verses 32 and 33 ; the whole of the chapter . 
exhibiting nothing more than that its composer displays a great store of 
useless rude nonsense. 



LEVITICUS: CHAPTER XVI. 



The composer represents that her fabled lord was yet very sociable 
with the fabled murderer, Moses, after it had consumed his two 



/ 



78 REVIEW OF THE 

nephews ; and that it told Moses to tell his brother that he come not 
at all times into the holy place, lest he die ! for it would appear in a 
cloud on the mercy-seat ; and that it commands the tawdry bedecked 
priest shall come into the holy place with a young bullock, and a ram, 
for a burnt offering ; and that he shall put on the holy linen coat, and 
have the linen breeches on his flesh, and shall be girdled, and attired 
with a mitte, and shall take two kids and a ram for offerings, and shall 
offer them before the Lord, and shall take his handsful of sweet incense, 
and a censor full of burning coals before the Lord, that he die not ! 
The former wild story of sprinkling blood is repeated, and many other 
useless statements, all of which have been long known to be too tedious 
and useless to invite any person to read them. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XVII. 

It is pretended a lord told Moses the murderer that he who killeth 
an ox, lamb, or goat, in or out of the camp, and offereth it not to the 
Lord by the door of the tabernacle, that man shall be cut off" from his 
people ; and the priest shall burn the fat and sprinkle the blood for a 
sweet savour to the lord ! Some indecency is added. 



LEVITICUS i CHAPTER, XVIII. 

The Lord is represented to have given indecent commands to Moses 
the murderer to convey to the people ; and also to tell that the wife 
of a father's brother is aunt. 



• LEVITICUS: CHAP.TER XIX. 

Men are not allowed to round or mar the corners of their beards ; 
which indicates more that the composer preferred a full-bearded gallant 
lord, than it does she knew of any invisible one. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XX. 



An indecent fable about what conduct men may be guilty of, with 
the addition of a cruel proposal of stoning men to death, and more in- 
decency about both men and women, incest, beastiality, &c. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 79 

. LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XXL 

Men are allowed to be defiled for a virgin sister that hath no hus- 
band, and priests are to be honored with virgins for their wives : but 
men with blemishes are forbid approaching to make an offering to God ; 
the blind, lame, flat-nosed, broken-handed, or broken-footed, or imper- 
fect-eyed men are to be kept away, as are also men who have sustained 
injury causing impotency ! which shows the composer entertained the 
same lewd ideas as she, in shameful, rude, indecent style, shows in the 
twenty-third chapter of Deuteronomy ; both chapters strongly indi- 
cating, or proving, that the composer of them must have been a female 
living in voluptuous style and maintained in idleness. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XXII. 

The Lord tells Moses to tell Aaron that no stranger or hired servant 
shall eat of the holy things. But if the priest lay a soul with his 
money ! he shall eat of it. The soul is allowed to eat ; consequently 
it is represented as the teeth and tongue, and all that to them belong, 
and nothing different. It is truly funny that people, in an age of science 
and improvement, should still neglect to be guided by reason, and con- 
tribute large sums to men for preaching from such a book, instead of 
applying those means to aid the industrious portion of mankind, by 
establishing means to keep them in the orbit, or path, of useful indus- 
try, whereby they might feel free from the fear of want. Sacrifices 
and burnt offerings are again treated of. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XXIII. 

The Lord tells Moses that the feasts, are its feasts, and that on the 
fifteenth day of the month the feast of unleavened bread is a feast to 
the Lord ! and that the priest shall wave the sheaf before the Lord on 
the morrow after the sabbath ; and that people shall eat neither bread, 
parched corn, or green ears, until the same day they bring an offering 
to God ! and it commands a new meat offering, and an offering of wine ! 
Thus the composer, throughout her inconsistent fables, shows fond 
recollection of wine. 



80 REVIEW OF THE 

LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Lord tells the murderer to command the people to brmg pure 
oil, to cause the lamps to burn continually ! and commands that the 
short-breeched priest shall order the lamps on the pure candlestick be- 
fore the Lord continually ! Surely such wild statements, held forth to 
man as the word of a creative power, allow priests to impose ridiculous 
ceremonies on mankind as holy. Offerings made by fire are again 
treated of. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XXV. 

The Lord commands Moses to cause trumpets to sound throughout 
the land t)n the day of atonement, and hallow the fiftieth year, which 
is commanded to be a jubilee, and people are commanded not to sow or 
reap that which groweth of itself, nor gather grapes. The queen 
composer, without doubt, lived sumptuously a longer period, free from 
the toil of sowing, reaping, or gathering the grapes her wine was made 
from. She allows both men and maids to be bought and held as bond 
servants : of course she had been attended by many servants through- 
out her life, and did not entertain an idea of being one day or hour 
without their aid. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XXVL 

It is stated, the Lord tells one set of people that five of them shall 
chase an hundred, and an hundred shall put ten thousand to flight, and 
their enemies shall fall by the sword, if they walk in its statutes and 
do them ; but if they will not hearken, they shall flee when none pur- 
sue th, and the burning ague shall consume their eyes: a great contra- 
diction to the character given to this fabled lord, being full of mercy 
and loving-kindness, and exceeding the bounds of probability. 



LEVITICUS : CHAPTER XXVH. 



The Lord is represented to tell Moses to tell the people that when 
a man makes a singular vow the persons shall be for the Lord, 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 81 

by the estimation"\of this tiabled murderer, for a male, fifty shekels of 
silver, and thirty for a female* But the priest is to tax the poor 
according to their ability. Thus the ideas of the queen are plainly 
seen to be, she would have priests take from every man as much as 
they by any means can. Isaac, Jacob, and Abraham, alias Abram, it 
is pretended, are spoken of by an invisible lord. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER I. 

It is stated that the Lord told Moses to number the people, accord- 
ing to their poll, from twenty years old and upward. The priest that 
this lord commanded to put on holy linen breeches, reaching from his 
loins to his thighs, to cover his nakedness, is also commanded to num- 
ber the people by their armies ; and after the same useless enumeration 
of tribes through forty verses, as hath been previously stated, the 
number of men of one congregation is stated to be 603,550, the same 
number treated of in Exodus ; a pretty goodly number to have accu- 
mulated in the land of Israel alone, since , Noah the drunkard was 
equally highly favored with the murderer Moses, by an invisible power 
that is represented to be all-wise and merciful. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER H. 

It is represented that an invisible lord tells the murderer Moses in 
wliat manner people shall pitch their standard, with the ensign of their 
father's house ; and the same number is again treated of that has 
several times previously been stated, 603,550; proving that the com- 
poser knew more of armies, and men on earth, than she did of any 
invisible spirit or region ; and that military displays pleased her fancy, 
and also aided to distract her mind, which would probably not have 
been the case had she been a mother. 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER HI. 



The names of the tawdry bedecked fabled priest's sons are given 
and repetition is made of the fable of two of them being burned by the 



c2 ' REVIEW OF THE 

loving kind lord, and that the tribe of levites were given to the priest 
■vrith the linen breeches, to be his servants. The lord also claims 
them, and the first-born in Israel, both man and beast, — mine they 
shall be, I am the Lord, so the composer doth state. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTEPu IV. 

' The lord is represented to tell the murderer Moses, and the priest it 
commanded to put on linen breeches, to take the number of those that 
do the work of the tabernacle, and to put the covering of badgers' 
skins on it, and spread over it a cloth wholly of blue ! and spread a 
cloth of blue on a table, and put dishes, spoons, bowls, and covers on, 
and spread on them a scarlet cloth ! and cover the same with badgers' 
skins ! and cover the candlesticks, and light its lamps ; and spread 
on the golden altar a blue cloth, and cover it with badgers' skins. The 
lord is again represented to talk to the fabled murderer and the tawdry 
bedecked priest, telling them what to do to some people who are not 
allowed to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die ! This 
chapter is evidently a record of proof that the composer was acquainted 
with the extravagancies ot an earthly monarch, and of her mind being 
distracted with the vanity of show and amusements, while deprived 
of the satisfaction of the natural transaction of giving birth to her own 
image and likeness. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER V. 

The lord, it is stated, commands Moses to tell people to put every 
leper out of the camp : a ram, and other atonements that are brought 
to the priest, the invisible commands shall be his. Thus the queen, as 
usual, shows she was desirous her aids, the priests, should be well fed 
and adored ; and bestows on priests the power of ascertaining whether 
a man's wife be true to him or not, by a most ludicrous management 
indecently expressed, stating this is the law of jealousy. 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER VI. 



It is represented that an invisible lord told Moses the murderer 
that, when man or woman separate, he shall not drink liquor of grapes. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 83 

or strong drink ; which doth show the composer did of strong drink 
and wine more know than she did of any lord from her sight hid ; 
and the statement of the lord forbidding any razor coming on the man's 
head indicates that she hadjpartaken freely of stimulating drink, to 
inspire her to boldly record her wild imaginings ; as does also that 
statement, he that separateth himself from the lord shall come at no 
dead body ! and shall not make himself unclean for his father, mother, 
sister, or brother, when they die. Offerings are again commanded to 
be brought to the priest and to .the lord. Bread, cakes, flour, oil, 
wafers, meat, animals and birds, wine, &c., are treated of in the oft- 
repeated ludicrous style ; also some statement of shaving hair, and 
priests are represented as being of great consequence . 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER Vir 

It is again represented that an invisible lord spake to the fabled 
murderer, Moses, commanding that princes make offerings ; their offer- 
ings are described ; considerable weight of gold and gold spoons, silver 
bowls, &c., and young bullocks, rams, lambs, goats, and a variety of 
valuable realities, are treated of; which the queen, beyond doubt, had 
often seen, and knew more about than she did of any imaginary invis- 
ible thing or spirit. Two hundred and thirty-two animals are stated 
to have been offered as burnt offerings, and otherwise disposed of ; show- 
ing nothing more than that the queen would take from her subjects, 
and give her fabled priests, and other characters, profuse stores. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER VIII. 

In this chapter, as in many others, it is pretended the lord spake 
several times to Moses ; command is given to him to direct the priest 
that wore the short linen breeches and robe hung round with gold 
bells to light seven lamps over against the candlestick : the work of the 
candlestick is stated to have been of beaten gold, with shaft and flowers, 
according to the pattern the lord showed Moses ! By this wild state- 
ment it appears as though the queen-composer ?had become distracted 
by being surrounded with profusion of gold, in a variety of forms, in 
the palace of Saint James, in London city, and Windsor castle, where 
services of gold are kept for use. 



84 REVIEW OF THE 

NUMBERS: CHAPTER IX. 

The composer assumes to know that a lord spake to Moses on a 
specified day in a wilderness ! Surely this lord needed to have met 
Moses with sword in hand, to protect itself from being killed and hid 
in the sand, as this highly-honored agent of the lord is recorded to 
have done with an Egyptian, in the same chapter that giVes an account 
of his birth, after the account of his writing fifty-one previous chapters. 
The word lord is made use of fourteen times. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER X. 

It is stated, the lord tells Moses to make two trumpets of a whole 
piece of silver ! and gives him directions about blowing them, and 
about camps, like a man of war ! and in another part of the work it is 
stated, our Lord is a man of war ! and it is known that the queen who 
left the work of&ciated, giving directions respecting warfare. The 
words Lord and God are inserted more than a dozen times ; and such 
is one of the leading traits of the composition of her work, manifestly 
showing it has been resorted to for the purpose of impressing doubtful 
minds with unnecessary fear, in order to hold them in servility. 



. NUMBERS: CHAPTER XL 

It is stated, the Lord's anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord 
burned among the' people ! and when Moses the murderer prayed to the 
Lord the fire was quenched ; yet, it is stated, Moses interrogates the 
Lord, requiring it to inform him why he hath not found favor in its 
sight, and neither he had begotten'all the people ! that thoushouldst tell 
me to carry them in |my bosom to a land which thou swearest unto 
their fathers ! and if thou dealest thus with me, kill me out of hand ! 
The Lord tells Moses to gather seventy elders, and officers over them, 
to the tabernacle, and it will talk with him there, and will put a part 
of the spirit which is on thee on them ; and tells Moses to tell the 
people to sanctify themselves. This sentence evidently is an encour- 
agement for shrewds who wish to deceive other people to pretend to 
sanctification. Moses tells some men to stand still, and he will hear 
what the Lord will command concerning them ; and they kept its 
commands by the hand of the murderer Moses. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 85 

NUMBERS : CHAPTER XII. 

A WIND, it is stated, went out from the Lord, and let quails fall by 
the camp, as it were a day's journey on each side, three feet high, and 
people gathered two days and a night ; and while the flesh was in their 
mouths, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against them, and it smote 
them with a very great plague ! which story is a contradiction to the 
character of immutability and loving-kindness which hath been bestowed 
on the queen's lord ; and shows, as most of the chapters in the work 
she left do, that her mind had been distracted after she lost her favorite 
Earl of Essex. ... 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER XIII. 

The murderer Moses, by the command of the Lord, is represented 
to have sent men to spy out sonie land which the Lord had given to 
his people, to see whether it be fat or lean ! The land is'represented 
to flow with milk and honey. The same silly, unreasonable tale is" oft 
repeated in the work ; and, of course, adds proof to its other innu- 
merable inconsistencies ; and a great contradiction to the statement of 
the fertility of the land is added,— -that, instead of flowing with milk 
and honeys it eats up the people, who are represented to be giants, and 
that those who examined it were but as grasshoppers to them ! Surely 
every reader who wishes to be guided by reason must perceive that 
the sooner such wild fables are abandoned from churches and schools, 
the sooner children will be able to obtain, and retain, useful information, 
and lunatic asylumslwill be less burdened with inmates, and less 
deception will be practiced. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XIV. 

Land flowing with milk and honey is again treated of; and that the 
Lord was not able to bring people into the land it sware to them ! and 
that it said people should not see the land it sware to them, but Caleb 
and his seed should possess it ! and that the people's carcasses should 
fall in the wilderness, which threat is twice stated in this said to be 
holy chapter by the invisible, that is also declared to be of long sufier- 
ing and of great mercy ! visiting the sins of the fathers unto the fourth 



86 REVIEW OF THE 

generation. If such composition does not convince readers that the 
composer wrote from disordered imagination, no other inconsistent fable 
can that overpowers the mind with hope and fear. 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER XV. 

It is stated, the Lord tells Moses to tell the people to make sacrifices 
of bullocks, flour, dough, oil, wine, &c. ; most of which are, as usual, 
commanded for burnt offerings, to be sweet savours unto the Lord ! 
Bread and cake are also treated of among the offerings, and the priest 
is again allowed the consequential honor of making an atonement for 
the congregation, and of procuring forgiveness of the people's sins ; and 
to the murderer Moses, who is also represented as a high-priest, is 
attributed the power of giving his command to the Lord that a man 
shall be put to death w^ho had picked up some sticks on the Sabbath, 
so the congregation stoned him to death \ The Lord tells Moses to 
tell the people to make fringes on the borders of their garments, and 
put a blue ribbon on the fringes, that they may remember all the com- 
mandments of the Lord. Some indecency is added, finishing with the 
invisible giving itself a double title. 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER XVI. 

It is stated, the Lord tells two priests to separate themselves from 
the congregation, that it might consume them. One of these priests 
was the fabled murderer ; the other he who, it is stated, the Lord 
commanded to put on breeches, to reach from his loins to his thighs, 
and a robe hung round with gold bells ; neither of whom are por- 
trayed as being deserving of special favor from any being, either 
visible or invisible, the fable only exposing want of sober reflection in 
its composer. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XVIL 



It is stated, the Lord tells Moses to tell the people to take twelve rods, 
and that he write on them each a name of he who brought them, and on 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 87 

one of the rods the name of Aaron, and the man's rod that it will choose 
shall blossom. And on the morrow Aaron's rod blossomed, budded, and 
yielded almonds. Surely it is time now, in this age of science and 
improvement, that a doctrine based on useful and practical lessons 
should be generally introduced in schools and churchfes in lieu of such 
absurd fables, that are only calculated to confuse the mind, and retard 
the obtaining useful information. 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Lord tells the tawdry bedecked priest and his sons they shall 
bear the iniquity of their priesthood ; and surely if such characters 
ever existed their deceptions and iniquities were enormous ! Repeti- 
tion is again made that the Levites are given to these tawdry priests to 
do the work of the tabernacle ; and the Lord tells the father priest it 
had given him the charge of its heave-offerings, and that other offer- 
ings of the people shall be holy for the priest with the holy short 
breeches and his sons ; and that he and his sons shall eat it in the holy 
place, and that the wheat and first-fruit, and the best of the oil and wine^ 
are bestowed by the Lord on these'priests bedecked with linen breeches, 
bonnets, mitres, girdles, robes and gold bells ; and people are forbid to 
come nigh to the tabernacle, lest they die. The composer hath treated 
of wine, which she beyond doubt made too free use of, as the work 
she left indicates . 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XIX. 

It is stated, the Lord tells two priests to tell the people to bring a red 
heifer that never had been burdened with a yoke, and that one shall 
slay her before the face of the priest, who shall sprinkle its blood seven 
times before the tabernacle ; and one shall burn before the face of the 
priest the skin, flesh, blood, and dung ; and the priest shall cast into 
the midst of the burning, cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet. Twenty- 
two verses are filled with similar composition, manifestly exhibiting 
disordered imagination in the composer. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XX. 



Th£re was no water for the congregation, it is stated ; which is 
picturing them as being less adroit than quadrupeds, as all animals have 



88 REVIEW OF THE 

sense and perseverance to find water. The Lord, it is stated, tells 
Moses to take the rod ! Of course this must mean the one that hath 
been turned into a serpent, when Moses fled from it ; and also the 
same fabled serpent that turned into a rod again ! which hath also been 
styled the rod of God ; so Moses, thus powerfully equipped, strikes a 
rock, and water came out abundantly ; which fable the queen composes 
in true legerdemain style, similar, beyond doubt, to conjurors' tricks she 
had seen performed by some of her poorer subjects, who earned a 
living by amusing her and others. The Lord commands that Aaron 
shall be stripped of his garments, and that they be put on his son 
Eleazer. So this son, according to the fable, would be a dashing one ; 
with holy short breeches, embroidered coat and robe, hung round with 
gold bells, girdle, mitre, breastplate, thummim, &c. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XXI. 

It is stated, the Lord hearkened to some people, and delivered up 
another nation to them ; and the nation the Lord listened to destroyed 
the others, and their cities ! Such shameful, bold, unreasonable preten- 
ces of knowing so dreadful a power, hidden from sight ! can scarcely 
fail of injuring the reasoning faculties of weak and credulous minds;, 
by. filling them with unnecessary dread, that will cause them to 
suppose they are not sure of retaining their nose on their face ; the 
composer appears not to have been sufficiently sober while writing this 
chapter to remember her fable of water gushing abundantly out of a 
rock by Moses strilring it with the magic rod ! and states people spake 
against God and Moses on account of not having water ! and the fiery 
stimulus she had taken appears to have inspired her with boldness to 
state God sent fiery serpents among the people ; and that it told its 
servant Moses to make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole ! and those 
who looked on it and had been bitten should live ! so Moses made a 
brass serpent ! and those who looked on it and had been bitten by the 
fiery ones lived, and the composer's fable of allowing the fabled ser- 
vant of her Lord to evade its command by making a brass serpent, 
instead of the fiery one it commanded the fabled murderer to make and 
set on a pole, plainly shows the composer was not in a state of mind 
to enable her to write a probable story, or any thing in a uniform or 
reasonable manner. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 89 

NUMBERS: CHAPTER XXII: 

It is stated, God came to Balaam at night, and told him if men came 
to him to go with them, so Balaam saddled his long-eared animal, and 
went with some princes ; and the anger of God was kindled, and an 
angel stood in the way, sword in hand I and the animal turned into a 
field and Balaam smote it, and the animal crushed its master's foot 
against a wall, and he smote the animal again ; and the angel went 
into a narrow place where there was no room to turn, and the animal, 
at the sight, fell downright ! and Balaam smote it again, and the Lord 
opened the mouth ot the beast ; who must have had its mouth 
opened at least a thousand times before it grew so strong to carry a 
man so long ; but it is stated this beast, who allj know its language is 
only a bray, did to its master say. What have I done unto thee, that 
thou hast smitten me these three times ; am not I'thine, upon which 
thou hast ridden ever since 1 was thine ? was I ever wont to do 
so unto thee ? And the Lord opens Balaam's eyes, and he saw the 
angel with drawn sword in hand, who told him considerable. Surely 
the composer showeth plainly a lack of sober sense. 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER XXIII. 

^ God, it is stated, met Balaam and told him it had prepared seven 
altars, and offered on every altar a bullock .and a ram. The composer 
doth not assume to know who the fourteen animals were offered to, 
but states the lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, which is twice stated ; 
and twice it is stated that a man built seven altars and offered a bullock 
and a ram on each altar ; thus it is plain to be seen that the enthusiastic 
queen was not as sober as she should have been. 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER XXIV. 



It is not pretended any supposed invisible object spake one word of 
this chapter. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XXV. 

It is stated, the Lord tells Moses that a certain man shall have an 
everlasting priesthood for himself and his seed. This is one of those 

7 



90 REVIEW OF THE 

who were honored with short breeches, goodly bonnets, &c., for glory 
and beauty. By the command of an invisible Lord so stated, the Lord 
tells Moses to vex and smite the Midianites. This, as numerous other 
statements do, forms a contradiction to the character of mercy and 
loving kindness. The Lord tells Moses to hang the heads of the 
people, that its fierce anger may be turned away ! and one of the taw- 
dry bedecked priests, with javelin in hand, thrust a man and woman 
through ; so the plague was stayed. But instead of such fables being 
sacred or useful, they can only have tendencj'^ to lead weak, deluded 
minds to imagine that by destroying the life of those who are too 
honest to pretend they believe the absurd composition of the bible true 
and holy, they are serving an imaginary almighty power that they 
never see or hear, but who they are taught to fear through the bold, 
dismal tales they hear preached by payed preachers, and spoken of by 
those who have been deluded by them. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XXVI. 

Repetition is made that the Lord tells Moses to take the sum of a 
congregation ; more than six hundred thousand are again treated of ; but 
among these there was not a man that Moses and Aaron had numbered, 
for the kind, merciful Lord had said, they shall surely die in the 
wilderness. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XXVH. 

The Lord tells Moses a man's daughters speak right, and tells him to 
get up into a mount, and to lay his hand on Joshua, and put some of 
his honor upon him. Surely it would be difficult to find honor in a 
man that committed murder in his youth, and when in command over 
thousands did send twelve thousand men to destroy innocent, unprotect- 
ed people, the males of three walled up towns being all slain, without 
one man of the twelve thousand men sent by Moses being missing ! 
Surely the composer showeth lack of memory and sober reflection by 
her fiction. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XXVIII. 



The Lord tells Moses to tell people its offerings, and bread] for 
sacrifices made by fire for a sweet savour unto it they yhall observe, 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 91 

two lambs day by day for a continual burnt offering, and flour mingled 
with oil, and also strong wine shall be poured unto the Lord for a 
drink offering. The probability is, the composer would have preferred 
that herself and the noble earl of Essex should have the s:ood wine 
rather than have it poured out for any invisible Lord. Thirty-one 
verses are filled with statements of offerings being commanded. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XXIX. 

A DAY is appointed for blowing of trumpets ; burnt offerings are 
commanded to be made for sweet savours unto the Lord. Which hath 
been stated times sufficiently numerous to show the composer of the 
fables continued long in a disordered state of mind, probably brought 
on by the loss of her noble favorite the earl of Essex, who was 
beheaded ; her vi^ild ideas hath led her to represent that about two 
hundred animals were commanded to be sacrificed for burnt offerinsg 
in this chapter, besides flour, meat, and drink offerings. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XXX. 

The composer allows Moses power to command the Lord to forgive 
a woman for offending her husband ; ending w^ith these are the statutes 
w^hich the Lord commanded Moses. Divorces are treated of; all 
showing the composer knew more of laws, statutes, and judgments, 
formed by men, than she did of decrees of any invisible spirit, and no 
such phantom speaketh a word of the chapter. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XXXL 

Repetition is made that the Lord commands Moses to be cruel to 
the Midianites ; and Moses sends twelve thousand men armed for war, 
and a priest with holy instruments, and trumpets to blow in his hand ; 
and they slew all the males, kings into the bargain, and took their 
flocks and goods, and brought them and the women and little ones to 
Moses ; who notwithstanding, being styled servant of the Lord, who 
is termed merciful and kind, was wrath with his officers for saving the 
women alive, and commands them to kill all but the virgins, which is 



92 REVIEW OF THE 

expressed in rude style, and the priest makes reservation of the pre- 
cious metals that had been taken. The Lord, it is stated, told Moses to 
take the sum of the prey (that was taken), both of man and beast, 
and divide it between those who went out to battle and the congrega- 
tion, and levy tribute unto the Lord. According to this said to be 
holy arrangement, each soldier would be allowed more than twice 
the number of virgins to the fabled king Solomon's wives and concu- 
bines, showing the probability that the composer's imagination was 
inspired by the stimulus of strong drink ; and her statement of the 
number of animals taken amounting to thirty-four thousand for each 
soldier that joined in the massacre, which statement makes it appears 
as the officers tell Moses, they have taken an account of their men, 
and (that) not one is missing, corresponds to prove the composer was 
not in suitable condition to write reason or truth ; the officers tell 
Moses they have brought an obligation to the Lord of gold chains, 
bracelets, rings, ear-rings, and tablets ; and Moses the murderer and 
another priest with the holy short linen breeches, embroidered coat, 
and embroidered robe hung round with gold bells, topped off with 
bonnet and mitre for glor}^ and beauty, took the gold ; and when all 
the rest of -the laughable nonsense is told, it plainly shows the queen 
composer must have been made bold by the inspiration of strong 
drink, or so at least every observing reader hath reason to think. 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER XXXII. 

The country which the Lord smote is allowed to be a land for 
cattle, and that the servants had cattle; but it is stated the Lord's 
anger was kindled, and he sware that certain men should not see the 
land it sware to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, save Caleb and Joshua ; 
and the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and it made them 
wander in the wilderness forty years ; and Moses tells people, if they 
will go armed before the Lord to war until he hath driven out its 
enemies, ye shall be guiltless ! Surely such delusive imposition ought 
to serve as an admonition to all mankind to res;train the powers of 
rulers within proper limits of general usefulness, and also to set aside 
all pretences of serving invisible spirits that some imagine exist, as 
such pretences are, and have long been, the promoters of ojipression by 
their deception ; man needs truth for his guide of conduct, which, like 
instinct, always directs right. Moses gives the cities and possessions of 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 93 

two nations to others, all under the pretence of it being a service to 
the Lord, and many rulers get all they can from others. 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER XXXIII. 

The Israelites take forty-two journeys ; the Lord, it is stated, tells 
Moses to tell the Israelites to drive all the inhabitants of Canaan out, 
and possess their land and other property. This oft-repeated com- 
mand corresponds with the conduct of monarchs, who often employ 
priest, and pay them liberally to delude armies with pretensions of 
sanctity, and that the warriors are fighting in a just and holy cause, 
and that great will be their reward in another world Tor all the lives 
they destroy in the service of God. 



NUMBERS: CHAPTER XXXIV. 

It is stated the lord describes coasts and borders of land, through 
twelve verses, much in the same manner as a land speculator would do, 
which contradicts the statement that it would not suffer any man to see 
its face and live ! and appears as though the composer's imagination led 
her to think the invisible spirit was talking to females only ; but the 
lord is represented to mention the names of twelve men, and com- 
mands that they shall divide the land, the whole forming a confused 
fiction, proving nothing more than the probability that the composer 
committed the fable to paper while she was not able to compose with 
reason. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XXXV. 

It is stated the Lord conversed with the murderer Moses in the plains 
of Moab ; rather a dangerous undertaking, if it was a delicate Lord ; for- 
ty-two cities are commanded to be given by one nation to the tribe of 
Levites, who are the same treated of in a previous chapter as having 
been bestowed on a tawdry-headed priest, as servants to do the work 
of the tabernacle. Six cities are also commanded to be appointed for 
the man-slayer, that he may flee to ; and, after the death of the high- 
priest, the man-slayer is allowed to return to his own city. The chap- 
ter contains thirty-four verses answering no other purposes than to dis- 



94 REVIEW OF THE 

gust people^with reading them, by which stratagem preachers are left 
to form their sermons from selected texts and keep an absurd fiction in 
some respect. 



NUMBERS : CHAPTER XXXVI. 



Females marry their cousins, in order to keep their inheritances con- 
tinued in their own tribes and families, and every daughter is com- 
manded by the lord to marry one of the tribe of their father. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER I. 

The murderer Moses spake on the first day of the eleventh month 
in the fortieth year ! and doth tell that the lord did tell the people 
they had dwelt long enough on a certain mount, and that it tells the 
people to journey to the land of the Amorites, and all the places nigh 
'thereto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and 
by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and to Lebanon, and to 
the great river Euphrates ; go and possess the land which the lord 
swore unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and their seed. 
The cities of this land are stated to be great and walled up to heaven ! 
and Moses tells the people not to be afraid, for the lord god shall 
fight for them I It is also stated, the lord god went before the people 
to pitch their tents ; and repetition is made that this merciful, kind de- 
scribed lord did swear, and was angry, and declared only one man, 
Caleb, should see the land he swore to others, and to Caleb he would 
give it ! So Moses tells the people they abode many days in Hadesh, 
according to the days they did abide there ; and in the course of the 
chapter several statements are made of Moses telling the people what 
they had done and said, all plainly showing deficiency of sober reflec- 
tion in the composer of the fable ; and surely people who respect such 
inconsistent stories as holy truths, must be held to such an opinion 
through fear, which they might discern to be as false as the writings 
that have caused them to renounce the evidence of reason, if thej would 
exercise that faculty. 



DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER II. y 

Repetition is agaia made of the Lord swearing ; and that people 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 95 

are great and manj'^, and as tall as the Anakims, and that the land was 
accounted a land of giants ! But the lord destroyed them, as it did 
the children of Esau ; and as the Avims destroyed the Caphtorims, and 
dwelt in their stead to this day, and Moses tells one set of people he hath 
given them the land of others, and he will put the dread of them on all 
nations. Surely the queen ought not to have been so bold such a 
fable to (the whole world) have told. When travelling to all parts 
was not practised, selling meat for money is treated of, also of eating, 
drinking, and passing on foot, and that the lord had given to the fabled 
murderer the land of another king, and that it told him to possess it, 
and that the lord god delivered this king before the fabled Moses and 
his people, and they smote this king, and his sons, and all his people, 
and took all his cities, and utterly destroyed the men, women, and chil- 
dren, and took the spoil of the cities, and cattle as prey for themselves. 
What can have a more pernicious effect on the minds and morals of 
weak-minded people, who are guided by what they hear said } Preach- 
ers say and preach from sermons they contrive out of selected texts, 
striving ingeniously to keep so vile a book in respect, and to have it 
represented to them as the word of a merciful, loving, kind, invisible 
Lord ; and to be pronounced as sacred and holy. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER III. 

It is stated the lord god delivered another king and all his people 
into the hands of the fabled murderer Moses, and that they were smote 
till none were left, and sixty of their cities were taken, which were all 
fenced with high walls, bars, and gates ! besides a great many unwalled 
towns. And Moses, the servant of the lord, (and reputed murderer,) 
states they utterly destroyed, men, women, and children, as they did 
others previously, and took the spoil of the cities, and cnttle for a prey, 
to ourselves, and boasts that he gave the cities unto others, also telling 
the people that he commands them to possess the land which the lord 
their god hath given them ! and as their eyes have seen what the lord 
god hath done to the kings, so Moses declares it shall do to all the 
kingdoms they pass. Thus the queen composer, after having studied 
warfare, and officiated in planning such destructions, appears to have 
retained a fondness for [planning and encouraging) one party of people 
to live by rapine and murder, and many others who have succeeded her 
have pursued the same course, causing the destruction of millions, when 



96 REVIEW OF THE 

millions of acres of land needed their aid to improve it, by which means 
they could have been comfortably sustained, and the surface of the 
earth o-reatly improved and beautified, and general happiness promoted, 
instead of which this military kind of book hath been for centuries up- 
held as holy, by means of immense sums paid to those who openly de- 
clared it to be the word of God; while they are relieved from bodily 
labor and pecuniary risk, and have time and opportunity to read,and see 
its inconsistencies. '' 



DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER IV. 

Moses tells people that they stood under the mountain, and that it 
burned ; and that the Lord spake to them out of the midst of the fire. 
Thus the queen represents her fabled Lord to have been of the nature 
of a salamander, and states that it is a consuming fire ! even a jealous 
god ! and in the same chapter states. For the lord god is a merciful 
god, and will not forget the covenant that it swears ! And Moses asks 
the people if ever any people heard the voice of god speak out of the 
midst of fire as they had done and live ! This last sentence certainly 
shows some shrewdness ; as the knowledge of any inconsistency might 
be attributed to those who have lost the power of refuting anything. 
Such is plainly the case with respect to all the fictious characters treated 
of in the bible, testament, and apochrypha, as on the introduction of 
those books none of the men treated of could have been known any 
more than the imaginary spirits and regions, that are also much treated 
of. But advocates of those books pretend that people have as good 
and sufficient reason to believe those fabled characters and places as 
they have to believe men of general renown ever lived, who have been 
k^nown during their life by thousands, and whose transactions have been 
regularly communicated as they occurred, while the whole fables of the 
books, represented by interested and deluded persons as sacred and 
holy, and as being the word of an invisible spirit, was at its first intro- 
duction palmed on mankind as an ancient, mysterious production, show- 
ing in a clear manner that the introducers of it had discerned after the 
printer had printed it, that it was absurd, and that they were ashamed 
to let its origin be known, so they pretend it had sprung from an un- 
known region, and was a translation. This hath been imposed on many 
generations. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 97 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER V. 

Moses tells the people that the Lord spake to them face to face, and 
that he stood between them and the Lord, and that it told them it should 
have no other gods but it; and declared itself a jealous God, and 
that it would visit the iniquity of fathers on children to the fourth gene- 
ration ; and forbids people to kill or steal, and sets some other rules 
which people must have known was right to be observed long before 
the queen left her writings, which her successor to the English throne 
had published, and also before printing was invented, as every one must 
have always known it to be wrong for another to hurt them ; which 
would inform them it was wrong for them to hurt another. Moses tells 
the people that the Lord wrote the words on stone tables ; it had spoken 
with a great voice out of the midst of fire ! And that they said, if they 
heard the voice of God any more, then they should die. It is also stated 
that Moses the word of God related to the people, that they must get 
into their tents ! but he must stand by it ! Thus the queen composer 
maketh her fabled wandering priest Moses of vast importance ; but 
dwarfs and deformed men did not suit her fancy see 23d of Deuterono- 
my, and hath often shown herself to have been an admirer of scarlet, 
the color of the coats of her gallant officers ; so much so, that her par- 
tiality for the color hath frequently caused her to represent scarlet as a 
substantine ; see Exodus, chaps. 26, 28, 35, 36, and other. But had 
this queen had had some children of her own, it is more than probable 
she would have amused herself with them, instead of composing such as 
she hath left to stupefy people with. 



DEUTERONONY : CHAPTER VI. 



It is stated Moses talks much, and makes free use of the words God 
and Lord ; but it is not pretended any Lord or God spoke one word. ^ 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER VII. 



This chapter is similarly composed as the last, without any pretence 
that a Lord or God spake a word of it. 



93 REVIEW OF THE 

DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER VIII. 

Moses tells people that the Lord God had led them through the wil- 
derness forty years, and that their raiment waxed not old. Surely they 
need not of such a fact been told. Moses is also stated to have told the 
people that the great and terrible wilderness that the Lord God led them 
through had fiery serpents and scorpions in it ; but it is not pretend- 
ed that any Lord God spake one word of the nonsense the chapter is 
composed of. 



DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER IX. 

Moses tells the people that God gave him tables of stone written on. 
with its finger, and that they are to possess great cities, fenced up to 
heaven. Thus the composer maketh a queer representation of her Lord 
having so hard a finger that it could carve stone with it, and her fabled 
heaven as low as earthly fences, showing pretty clear that wine was 
plenty and near. Repetition is made, which hath oft been said, that God 
is a consuming fire ! Repetition is also made of the oft-repeated story 
that the Lord sware, a beginning to which absurdity can be found in 
the third chapter of the said-to-be holy Bible ; there it is made to appear 
that it set the first example of cursing the ground for Adam's sake, be- 
cause he did his wife's counsel take. Moses tells the people that while 
he did forty days and nights linger, during which time God wrote on 
stone tables with its finger, that he neither eat bread or drank water, 
and that God told him to let him alone, that he might destroy people. 
The work hath beyond doubt been composed expressly for the purpose 
of stupefying people. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER X. 

Moses tells people that the Lord told him to hew two stone tables 
like the first two, and come up to the mount and make an ark, and it 
would write the same words on the stone tables it did on those he broke. 
By this story it is made to appear Moses was not punished for his im- 
pudence of destrojnng the tables that such an august personage had 
taken the trouble to carve important commandments on with its finger. 
Although Moses had been honored to speak with it face to face, as a 
man talketh with a friend, and was told by it that no man should see 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 99 

its face and live ; and Moses had also the honor conferred on him of 
being lifted by it into the cleft of a rock, and allowed to see its hinder 
parts as it passed by. Moses is also represented to have killed a man, 
and buried him in the sand when he saw no one by to bear witness 
against him, all showing that the composer of the stories knew she could 
not make people so much afraid of imaginary spirits as they were of 
immediate notice and punishment by the law of the land ; and the whole 
stories about the wicked cruelties of Moses, and terming him as the ser- 
vant of a supposed kind and merciful ruler, is manifestly poor logic, and 
adds great inconsistency to the various fictions contained in the said-to- 
be holy Bible. And the Abraham, alias Abram, David, and many other 
characters treated of in both the Bible and the Testament, give proof 
that one person of wild imagination wrote the whole in hours when 
they were not in sane and sober condition. 



DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER XI. 

The murderer Moses tells the people if they will hearken to his com- 
mands, then he will give them the early and the latter rain, that they 
may gather in corn, wine and oil, and that they shall lay up his words 
in their hearts, and bind them as a sign on their hands, that they may 
be as frontlets between their eyes. This is surely nonsense wild enough 
to distract the mind even of one who might advocate the book or its use 
for the sake of obtaining gold. Even Daniel Webster himself, from those 
who were interested in deluding and stupefying youth with its rehearsal, 
and to have children puzzled with the inconsistency, by speaking [of 
them in the House, and when lying down, and while rising, and when 
walking ; as crazy or unjust it must appear to rational, well-disposed 
minds, that men of literature, or a man of science, should advocate that 
such wild nonsense should be written on the door-posts of houses, and 
on gates. Yet it is stated in this said-to-be holy chapter that the Lord 
God will drive out nations from before the people who obey these com- 
mands, and that they shall have the possessions of greater and mightier 
nations than themselves, and that every place where their feet tread 
shall be theirs, even to the uttermost sea, and none shall be able to stand 
before them ; finally, this fabled servant of the invisible spirit, and re- 
puted murderer Moses, tells the people he hath set before them a bless- 
ing and a curse, and directs them to put the blessing on one land and 
the curse on another : both are described as mounts. He also commands 



100 REVIEW OF THE 

the people that they do all the statutes he sets before them. Thus the 
composer, as usual, bestows great power to her fabled priest ; no Lord 
or God speaks a word of the chapter. 



DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER XIL 

The composer gives her hero Moses again about the same power and 
consequence as she bestowed on him in last chapter, and repeats the 
story that some people are to have their places destroyed for others to 
possess, by command of the Lord God ! burnt offerings and tithes are 
also again treated of. Twice, it is stated, the clean and the unclean are 
allowed to eat ; it is also allowed that people may kill and eat flesh, 
whatever they lust after, and eating of blood is forbidden repeatedly ; 
but it is not pretended any God or Lord spake one word. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XHL 



Moses commands that if people propose to serve any God but the 
one who let him see its hinder parts the people of that city shall be 
destroyed, and their cattle also, with the edge of the sword ; and that 
the spoil shall be burned in the street for the Lord God ! This is only- 
represented as talk from Moses, without pretence of any God speaking. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XIV. 

Command is stated to have been given to people that they shall not 
cut themselves, nor make baldness between their eyes for the dead, and 
that they shall not eat any abominable thing. Surely the composer 
must have been too high charged with strong drink so to think. Many- 
animals are designated that may be eaten, and many that are forbid to 
be eaten ; among these are swine, that the multitude are not allowed to 
dine on ; but beyond doubt, the queen sometimes eat of them at home, 
if she did not when out. People are commanded to eat in a place before 
the Lord God where it may choose ; but if they are not able to carry 
their food so far, they are allowed to turn it into money, and get what 
they lust for, even to strong drink and wine. They are also commanded 
to bring forth the tithe of their increase. 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 101 

DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER XV. 

When a slave hath served six years, and says he will not go, because he 
loveth his wife — children, thee and thine house, then thou shalt thrust 
an awl through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for- 
ever ! according to this, and the statement in the testament, that part of 
human beings are to be transported to realms of bliss forever, and the 
others to a lake of brimstone and fire, the faithful bond servant would 
have to submit to the fate of his master to all eternity, command is also 
stated to have been given that the master shall do likewise to his maid 
servant, all the firstling males are commanded to be sanctified by the 
owners of herds and flocks to the lord god ; yet it is not pretended that 
any such supposed invisible spake a word. 



DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER XVI. 

The composer states, three times in a year shall all the males appear 
before the lord god, but does not pretend any such spirit spake one 
word, judges, oflScers, feasts, and other earthly things are treated of, 
and free use is made of the words god and lord. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XVII. 

Sacrifices of sheep, bullocks, &c., are, as usual, commanded to be 
without blemish, repetition is also made, that if either man or woman 
hath served other gods than the one that lifted moses in the cleft of the 
rock, and hid him with its hand, or had worshipped the sun or moon, 
should be stoned to death ! and the words god and lord are inserted 
many times, yet the composer does not pretend that either one or the 
other spake a word, priests and judges are held forth as being of great 
importance, and as being chosen by the lord, although every such sup- 
posed spirit is silent on this occasion as well as others. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XVIII. 



The composer states, the lord god hath chosen the priest out of all the 
tribes ; and that this shall be his due, whether it be ox or sheep, the 
shoulder, two cheeks, and the maw ; and the first flece of the sheep, 
corn, fruit, oil, and wine ! by this it appears, the queen did wish that 



102 * REVIEW OF THE 

priests should richly dine, and of course be by people adored, while 
they were by them and her government to servitude lowered ; and to 
make the priest's office permanent as hereditary monarchy, states the 
lord hath chosen him and his sons to minister unto it for ever ! and 
although the queen is to both the invisible and the priest so clever, she 
commands her subjects, that if a prophet speak in the name of the 
lord, and the thing does not come to pass, ye shall not be afraid ! 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XIX. 



Repetition is again made respecting the lord having sworn ! and 
the queen as usual, makes priests and judges of great importance, and 
makes free use of the words lord and god ; but does not pretend that 
any such personage spake a word. 



DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER XX. 

The queen strives to make her soldiers valiant, by directing theni 
not to be afraid when they go out to battle if they see an enemy larger 
in number and better equipped than themselves, telling them the lord 
god is with them ; and that when they come nigh to the battle the 
priest shall approach and say, " let not your hearts faint, fear not, and 
do not tremble, or be terrified ; for the lord god is he that goeth with 
you to fight] your enemies !" thus have rulers and priests long com- 
bined to keep people stupefied with their pretences of faith and belief 
in invisible aid ! while they keep up a trade of spoiling all the weak 
parties they can, by the strength of deluded man. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXI. 

Priests are again stated to have been chosen by the lord god, to 
minister unto it, and to bless in its name ! and by their word every 
controversy is to be tried ; and in the apocrypha it is stated, those who 
would not eat pork were by them in a pan fried, the queen, through- 
out the bible, testament, and apocrypha, making her aids, the priests, 
of great importance, the color of scarlet, which the british officers 
have for generations had their coats of, appears, in exodus, so much 
to have taken her fancy, that she treats of it often as a substan- 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 103 

tive ; and her levity in this chapter appears to have led her to state, that 
if. the lord god hath delivered some people as captives to others in 
warfare, and a man hath desire for a beautiful woman he seeth among 
them, he shall bring her to his home, and she shall shave her head and 
pare her nails ; and in verse 13 adds indecency, but does not pretend 
any lord or god spake a word. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXIL 

Women are not allowed to put on men's garments, and men are 
forbid having themselves hid in the garments of women : garments of 
divers colors are also forbid to be worn ; also those mixed with woollen 
and linen, according to this, woe be to numerous manufacturers and 
wearers of their fabrics ! fringes on the corners of vestures are also 
prohibited, according to the composer's wild impulse of the moment. 
The thirteenth verse is indecent, and the twenty-seven following verses 
are such as no sober or sane person would have impudence enough to 
write and declare to be holy or sacred, the words lord and god 
are, as usual, frequently inserted, without pretence of either speaking. 



DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER XXHI. 

The first verse is shamefully indecent, no bastard, or deformed or 
injured person, in body or limb, is allowed to enter into the congrega- 
tion of the lord, to the tenth generation. by this it appears that the 
queen composer felt neither charity nor compassion for any unfortunate 
or deformed male ; they, of course, would not suit her fancy so well 
as handsome, gallant, well-formed officers dressed in scarlet coats, with 
gold epaulettes ; and those treated of in her usual style of levity in the 
first verse, it is reasonable to decide, were altogether objectionable to 
her, from the character she generally bore ; henry the eighth, her 
father, having set her an example of licentious conduct, and she main- 
tained in luxury and idleness by the toils of her subjects. god, it is 
not pretended, speaks a word of the chapter, shamefully indecent as 
this chapter and many others are, the rev. dr. adams boldly declared 
the bible was written by god himself, as stated in the tribune. 



104 REVIEW OF THE 

DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXIV. 

This chapter contains statements respecting men putting their wives 
from them by divorce, and that a new-married man shall be exempt 
from war one year, leprosy is again treated of. many statements 
are made about lord and god, but it is not pretended that either spake 
a word. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXV. 

If a man's brother die, leaving a widow, the surviving brother is 
commanded, in the composer's usual style of levity, to take the widow 
and raise up seed ; and if he refuse, the widow is to pull off his shoe 
and spit in his face ! and his name is to be called the house of him 
that hath his shoe loosed, the eleventh verse is about as shamefully 
bold and indecent as any confessed lewd could invent ; but the com- 
poser hath not shown herself so bold as to pretend that any invisible 
spirit or lord god did any such conversation hold. men judges are 
again treated of in this said-to-be holy chapter. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXVI. 

' People are commanded to put some of their first fruits in a basket, 
and go to the place where the lord god shall choose to put his name, 
the queen secretly meaning, beyond doubt, the place were those put such 
a name who meant to live by preaching about the same ; as it hath 
been done, giving others opportunity of having the fun ; of enquiring of 
those within the building that had on its front an engraved stone, repre- 
senting the structure belonging to such an invisible alone, whether it 
was at home ! repetition is again made that the lord did swear ! and of 
tithes, and of statutes, judgments, &c., and again of the lord swear in a 
land flowing with milk and honey, 17 times the double title of lord god 
is inserted, solely beyond reasonable doubt or dispute, for the purpose of 
intimidating the weak-minded, inoffensive portion of mankind ; as it is 
natural the queen should wish to keep her gallant officers bold and fear- 
less of any supposed power that could not be found ; but to cause the 
men under their command to believe what paid priests would say when 
they did preach and pray, so that they should feel ambitious to gain 
renown, while they fought to enrich the government and protect the 
queen's crown ; and to cause them to believe that if their officers were 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 105 

by their enemies deceived, by having large reinforcements spring out of 
ambush on them, as the queen hath pretended the lord god directed one 
party to act against another, and slay them ; in such case, she strives 
to make the soldiers have faith, that in such a cause they need not fear 
any invisible laws, and that they would go to an upper story and live 
forever in glory. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXVII. 



The story is again repeated of land flowing with milk and honey, 
surely nothing can be more silly and funny, tw^elve curses are proclaim- 
ed, and the double title of lord god several times inserted ; but no pre- 
tence made that it spake a word. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Blessings and curses are again treated of, and the words god and lord 
amount to 50 insertions, sometimes the one, and sometimes the other 
is to do this or that, and occasionally the double-headed one is to be 
paid homage to at other times, the single one is to cause enemies to 
rise up and smite the people at another time, it is to make pestilence 
consume them whithersoever they go ! (but people, from experience, 
know that pestilence is apt to be confined to places that are densely 
populated.) at another time, the lord is to smite people with consump- 
tion, fever, burning, sword, mildew, and blasting, until they perish ! 
surely the queen must have taken sufficiently free ot wine after she did 
dine, to cause her to forget she had attributed to her lord the character 
of being full of mercy and loving kindness ; for she proceeds ascribing 
the cruelty to it of making rain dust, until the people were destroyed, 
and that their carcass shall be meat for fowls and beasts ! after all this 
she appears not to be sober enough to know it to be amiss to command 
that the lord shall smite the people with madness, blindness, and aston- 
ishment of heart ! and that the lord yshall smite them in the knees and 
legs with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the top of their head 
to the sole of their foot, and they are doomed to eat the flesh of their 
sons and daughters, surely no sober person would have imagined such 
crazy nonsense, nor been bold enough to have written it, and its being 
in the book from the first of its introduction must convince every un- 

8 



106 REVIEW OF THE 

prejudiced reader that the contents of the manuscript left by queen 
elizabeth must have been put together by the printer letter by letter, 
without being allowed to make alterations or omissions for the better, 
and also that no one else did thoroughly know the contents of the M^ork 
the queen left until king james had them published ; who is styled by 
the pretended translators the principal mover and author of the work ; 
and all circumstances connected with its introduction prove this simple 
and unintended confession tiue, as all bibles, or the most of them that 
have been printed previous to the present century, and some editions of 
this century, show in their preface and dedication ; but as it hath been 
publicly scrutinized of late years, the confession of its origin hath been 
left out of most bibles that have been recently printed, still, in this 
age of science and improvement, people generally begin to consider the 
word did not come into e^jistence like snow falling from clouds, or in 
any manner by chance ; but that it must be the work of the head and 
hand of a human being, as well as any other publication, which might 
easily have been discovered any day since it found its way from london 
tofrance, in the year 1552, or in the thirteen years previous, while it 
was imposed on the people of england during the reign of king james, 
the first, but as one thousand crowns were then demanded for one 
copy, it is probable societies only purchased any, and a decree was 
passed that the bible should only be read by persons lawfully ordained, 
or otherwise under the instructions of pastors and spiritual guides, which 
record doth plainly show that such persons did know that the work 
queen elizabeth left was too absurd and inconsistent to gain respect if 
its contents were generally known, sixty-eight verses are filled with 
cruel threatenings, the most wild imaginable ; ending with the declara- 
tion that the lord shall sell the people, and no one shall buy them, but 
in all this long detail it is not pretended that any lord or god spake one 
word ; yet the words lord and god are frequently inserted, declaring 
they shall do this or that. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXIX. 



Statement is made of the lord god making an "oath, as he hath 
sworn to abraham, alias abram ; and the anger and jealousy of the 
lord is commanded by the composer to smoke against a man ; and that 
it shall be said the whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning, and that 
the anger of the lord was kindled against the land, to bring on it curses. 



EIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 107 

surely the contradictions to the character of loving kindness throughout 
the bible are in a manner innumerable : no pretence is made that either 
lord or god spoke. 



DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER XXX. 

The words lord and god are frequently inserted in this chapter, 
stating it will do this and that, but none of such are represented to have 
said one word. 



DEUTERONOMY: CHAPTER XXXL 

The composer states the lord will destroy nations, and that others 
shall possess them, and that it shall do so and so. and in verse 14, the 
oft-repeated story that the lord spake to moses is revived, and that it 
appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud ; repetition is also made 
of the lord swearing about land flowing with milk and honey. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXXH. 

Sucking honey out of a rock, and oil out of the flinty rock, butter out 
of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, of the bread of bashan, 
and goats with the fat of kidneys, and blood of the grape, are all treated 
of, and but few can doubt but that the queen composer often had a frol- 
icsome scrape with the poor blood of the grape, repetition is made of 
the story of two putting ten thousand to flight, and of fire being kindled 
in god's anger that shall consume the earthy and set the foundations of 
the mountains on fire. 



DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXXUT. 

Moses is styled king, and it is stated that benjamin .s/ia// dwell be- 
tween the shoulders of the lord, and that it shall cover him all the day 
long, and that the shoes of ashan shall be iron and brass ; and to make 
them slip on easy, the queen allows them to be greasy, as she lets him 
dip his foot in oil, which would not such strong shoes spoil. 



lOS REVIEW OF THE 

DEUTERONOMY : CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Repetition is made of the oft-repeated absurdity, that the lord swore 
unto abraham, to isaac, and Jacob, so moses died, and he buried him ! 
but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day ! according to this 
last sentence, it appears equally as probable he might have been taken 
of the earth, in a chariot of fire, by horses of fire, as the fabled elisha. 
but the fabled murderer moses is stated to have given an account of 
people mourning for him thirt}'^ days, and represented as being so wide 
awake after he was buried as to describe the place where people weeped 
and mourned for him, which corresponds with his giving an account of 
his own birth in 2nd exodus ; also of his recording himself as a murder- 
er in the same chapter, all of which, added to the blunder the composer 
hath made of neglecting to give any account of her hero, of the five first 
books of the work she left, until uniting her fifty-second chapter, and 
the fifty-one previous ones, having statements in them of pretended oc- 
currences through a period of more than two thousand years ; also 
shows the whole fiction to have been composed by a person when not 
sufficiently sober to compose w^ithin the bounds of probability or reason, 
but to give the fiction some respect or grace, repetition is made of the 
lord knowing moses the murderer, face to face, and also by name. 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER I. 

After the death of the murderer moses, who is styled in the said-to-be 
holy bible the servant of the lord, and hath been represented through 
most of the preceding parts of the book as acting as the principal agent 
of such a spirit, it is stated the lord spoke to the minister of moses, tell- 
ing him moses was dead ! here the composer of the fable shows lack 
of sober reflection in her pretence that so great a spirit should tell the 
attendant of moses that moses was dead ! the lack of sober sense is 
further shown|by Joshua and one tribe of people being told that every 
place their feet shall tread on was given them by the spirit she por- 
trays as equitable and just, as they are also told no man shall be able 
before them to stand, and according to receiving such a promise fa-om 
an almighty power, they could make all others flee into a sea, like the 
devils treated of in the new testament that were cast out of two men, 
who could not be held with chains by jesus, who allowed the devils to 
enter into a herd of swine, and they ran violently down a steep into the 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 109 

sea and perished ! the composer gives further proof that she was not 
in'a condition to compose with reason, for, after stating Joshua and his 
people were made so rich and powerful, they are four times commanded 
to be couragous. repetition is made about the lord swearing, which ab- 
surd bold statement is to be found in numerous places under various 
titled heroes of parts of the said-to-be holy bible, all proving the com- 
poser of them knew oaths were frequently administered by man to man. 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER 11. 

Two men came into an harlot's house, and she hid them with 
flax stalks, and told them she knew the lord had given them the land, 
and all the inhabitants of the land were faint because of them ; for they 
had heard the lord had dried up the red sea for them ; and this woman 
entreats the men to swear unto her by the lord that ye will save my sis- 
ters, parents, and all that they have, the men tell her when the lord 
gives them the land they will deal kindly with her. then she let them 
down with a cord, for her house was on the town wall, and the men 
told her to bind the scarlet cord which she let them down with in the 
window, and the men returned to Joshua and told him truly the lord had 
delivered all the land into their hands, for the inhabitants faint because 
of them, this appears to be as wild a fiction as the story of sampson 
pulling two pillars within reach of his right and left hand while he be- 
tween them did stand, which supported a temple holding three thousand 
persons on its roof, and filled within. 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER HI. 

Joshua tells the people to sanctify themselves, for to-morrow the 
land will do wonders among you ! Thus far the composer hath pre- 
tended to know of an invisible spirit that murderers, robbers, and har- 
lots also knew and frequently had power to control or order what it should 
do, and in verse 7 assumes to know that the lord told Joshua it would 
this day magnify him ! and the composer, according to her general mode 
of treating of priests, states that as soon as their feet rested in the waters 
of Jordan, that the waters should stand upon heap, and even the salt sea 
failed, and was cut off. it is seen some to the belief of such absurd 
lies are nailed. 



no REVIEW OF THE 

JOSHUA : CHAPTER IV. 

In verse 2 the composer states the lord told Joshua to take twelve 
men, and command them to take twelve stones out of the place where 
the priests feet stood firm, and the people did as the lord spake unto 
Joshua, if the present generation will be guided b}" reasonable con- 
sideration, they must decide the people would have nothing to do if 
they waited for commands to be given by any invisible spirit to any 
man. about 40,000, prepared for war, it is stated, passed over before 
the lord unto battle, this statement doth plainly show that the com- 
poser did more know about armies, than she did about the beginning 
of the world or any invisible creator of it. in verse 9 the fabled 
twelve stones are stated to have been set up in the midst of Jordan, in 
the place where the feet of the priest stood, and it is also stated they 
are there to this day ! this is the same spot from whence the stones 
were got as commanded by the lord in verse 3, and in verse 20 the 
fabled stones are pitched in a place of a different name, reference is 
made of the fable of the red sea being dried up, also indicating the 
author of this fable and the books of moses to be the same wild Avriter; 
the style of both showing that the fables must have been written 
under the inspiration of wine : that article is much treated of by the 
composer. 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER V. 

The composer appears not to be sober while writing this chapter,, 
for she states the lord told the man Joshua to make sharp knives, and 
perform for a second time a cruel operation on his fellow-beings, the 
captain of the lord's host, w^ith drawn sword in hand, tells Joshua to 
loose his shoe from off his foot, for the place where he stands on is 
holy ! this is a repetition of a similar story in the books of moses? 
"where it is stated god was so sociable with the murderer moses as to 
request the homage from moses, telling him the ground he stood on 
was holy ! both stories showing want of sober sense in their compo- 
ser ; and surely none but a lewd woman would write so much respect" 
ing the privy members of man. 



JOSHUA : CHAPTEE. VI. 
It is stated the lord tells Joshua it had given jericho and its king 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. Ill 

and mighty men into his hand ! and the composer makes the blunder 

to state that the lord commands Joshua to compass the city it had 

given him, with the men of war six days ; which does not corroborate 

to show what she pretends to know of such an invisible almighty 

power, seven days the composer makes it appear in the next verse 

to the one containing the command of six days encompassing, the 

seventh day seven priests are commanded to blow with rams horns for 

trumpets, and the city to be seven times encompassed, surely the 

queen composer knew well enough about more complete sounding 

trumpets than rams horns ; but as she had so lately pretended to know 

of the first settlement of the earth, her whim of the moment in all 

probability was, rams horns were as good trumpets as need to be stated ; 

but as most attempts at deception show inconsistency much more than 

any statements that have reality and truth for their foundation, it is by no 

means wonderful, when the head of a nation should pursue a contrary 

course to that becomming her station, that her mind should become 

distracted, and cause her fiction to be inconsistent and absurd, the 

composer further states, the lord said that when the priests made a long 

blast with the rams horn, the people shall shout with a great shout, 

and the wall of the city shall fall down flat ! what can a reasonable 

person think of that ? nothing else, I suppose, but the composer was a 

wine-bibber, the priests, it is stated, passed on before the lord with 

the seven trumpets of rams horns, and blew with them, and the ark of 

the lord followed them ; and the armed men went before the priests. 

thus the composer makes her lord keep in the rear, which plan for a 

spirit greater than man appears queer, repetitions are made of the 

wall, and the trumpets, and of the shouting, and all is stated to have 

been destroyed that was in the city, man and beast, young ^and old 

but Joshua saved the harlot and her father's household. 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER VII. 

It is stated the ginger of the lord was kindled against israel. Joshua 
fell on his face, and the lord told him to get up, and asked him why 
he laid on his face .'' up, and sanctify the people ; and tell them to 
sanctify themselves against to-morrow ! and Joshua asked a certain man 
why he had caused trouble, telling him, at the same time, the lord 
should trouble him ! so he, and his sons, and his daughters were stoned 
and burned ! then the lord turned from its fierce anger ! surely such a 



112 REVIEW OF THE 

lord never could have been slow to anger, and full of mercy and lov- 
ing-kindness, and nothing can be more plain to be seen than that the 
composer was not sober or sane who wrote such inconsistencies. 



JOSHTJA : CHAPTER VIII. 

The lord gives Joshua a city, and its king and people, and tells him 
to go up to it, and take all the people of war with him, and not fear or 
be dismayed ; and this merciful kind spirit, or so represented a phan- 
tom, is also represented to command Joshua to slaughter the inhabi- 
tants of the city, both men, w^omen, and children ; as he did those of 
another city, according to the wild composer's statement in chapter six- 
but in this chapter the composer gives her lord another disgraceful slap, 
by stating it directs Joshua to lay in ambush behind the city, and to 
take the cattle as a prey unto themselves ; so Joshua took 30,000 
mighty men, and sent them away by night, telling them to be ready in 
wait against the city, behind it ; and he and all the people would ap- 
proach, and when the people come out of the city against us, we will 
flee, till we have drawn them from the city ; then ye shall rise from 
the ambush, and seize the city, for the lord your god will deliver it 
into your hands, and ye shall set it on fire, according to the command- 
ment of the lord ; and the lord commands Joshua to stretch out the 
spear that was in his hand toward the city, for he would give it 
'nto his hand; and the ambush arose as quick as their commander 
Joshua obeyed the command of the merciful fabled lord, and hasted 
to set the city on fire according to this lords command ! and not a 
man was left in the city or allowed to escape ; 12,000 fell that day, 
and the spoil of the city and the cattle were taken as prey by the 
besiegers according to the word of the lord ! then Joshua built an 
altar unto the lord god, as the murderer moses, the servant of the lord, 
had commanded, thus, when it is so plainly seen that the wild 
composing queen makes such free use of the words lord and god for 
the purpose of making serious impressions on the minds of her sub- 
jects, that they are held in uncertainty both with respect to their 
lives and property, by an over-ruling almighty power, who gives 
such cruel commands to earthly rulers to enforce, the ''best remedy 
for such extensive evils must be for peoj^le to honestly avow they 
know nothing of any such described dreadful power, and experience at 
all times showeth that the laws of the land is the only power to keep 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 113 

men in due command, and great aid can be tendered to them by- 
educating the rising generation to strictly adhere to the practice of 
truth and honesty, and also to constantly endeavor to make them- 
selves as useful and as agreeable as possible ; for under such instruc- 
tions all pupils must see their welfare was studied ; and youths could 
but rarely fail of imbibing more noble and beneficial ideas than when 
taught that believe an unnatural fable they must, or be doomed for- 
ever to be cursed ; by which doctrine they are led to believe those 
who do not others deceive by pretending they believe are wicked and 
dangerous. 



JOSHUA : CHAPTER IX. 

Several kings are represented to have told Joshua they came from a 
far country, because they had heard of the fame of his lord god. these 
visitors are stated to have been neighbors, and also as kings, to all the 
coasts of the great sea ! and the described style of their costume and 
appurtenance would be droll enough for any comedy- page, and beyond 
reasonable dispute must have been written by a person who frequently- 
had comic performances acted before them ; as they are stated to have 
taken old sacks on asses, and old rent wine bottles bound up, and old 
shoes^ clouted on their feet, and old garments on them, and mouldy dry- 
bread ; the fable throughout forming a lesson of deception, of which 
there are many in the said-to-be holy bible, and Joshua finding these 
men had deceived him by pretending they came from far, made them 
hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the 
altar of the lord unto this day ! this of course was easy for any one 
to write or say ; but the fable, like most others in the work queen 
elizabeth left, clearly showeth itself inconsistent enough to prove that 
she did love good wine as well as noah, the hero of her flood fable. 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER X. 

The lord, it is stated, tells Joshua not to fear the kings of the am- 
orites, for it had delivered them into his hand, and the lord slew them 
with a great slaughter, and chased them, and cast great stones from 
heaven on them, and more died ^by the stones, than by the sword ! 
then Joshua spake to the lord and ordered the sun and moon to stand 



114 REVIEW OF THE 

still ; and the composer states both obeyed Joshua, and that he tells his 
people not to suffer another party to enter into their cities, for the lord 
god had delivered them into their hands ; and he hanged five kings, 
and makes repetition of the oft-repeated command, fear not, be strong 
and of good courage, for thus shall the lord do to all your enemies, 
and the lord, it is stated, delivered place after place, with all the souls 
that were within them, to this fabled ruler of the sun and moon, the 
word " soul," when made use of in the bible, invariably is made to 
apply to the substance of the body ; but the composer of the work 
assumes in the testament to know of an invisible appendage to this 
visible body, which no one can find, so Joshua, it is stated, smote all 
the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the 
springs, and all their kings, and destroyed all that breathed, as the lord 
god commanded, since no one knoweth the existence of such a lord 
or god, it is to be hoped no such an one will ever be known ; and those 
who strive to be guided by reason certainly have nothing shown to them 
to cause either fear or belief that any such power exists ; and those 
who do from other causes than reading the bible, suppose that some 
mighty powder governs the universe and its inhabitants, if they endeavor 
to regulate their reflection by observation, experience, and reason, must 
find it impossible to believe the bible a divine inspiration, if they bestow 
one careful perusal on it ; as, in this age of science and improvement, 
thousands condemn it as fiction, stating it could not have come into 
existence by any other means than other publications do. but on 
account of the immense wealth that is annually raised to support 
preachers, men can be found to proclaim the work holy, as well as 
lawyers to defend murderers for the sake of obtaining some of the gold 
they are known to hold. ^ 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER XL 

The lord, it is again stated, tells Joshua to be not afraid of a numer- 
ous set of kings nor their people, who are represented to have been 
much as the sand on the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and 
chariots — for to-morrow, about this time, i will deliver them up all 
slain ! surely the composer could not have been sober and sane, the 
rest of her fable also shows she lacked sober reflection, in her statement 
that the lord commanded Joshua to hough their horses and burn their 
chariots ; so Joshua did as the lord bade him, utterly destroying every 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 115 

soul, leaving none breathing, in verse 9 the composer hath stated the 
lord gave these cruel commands, and in verse 12 states Joshua destroyed 
all, as moses, the servant of the lord, commanded, four times in this 
said-to-be holy chapter moses has the honor attributed to him of 
commanding incalculable numbers of people to be destroyed ; who is 
represented also to have given an account of his own death, before the 
commencement of the fable under the title of the book of Joshua, 
this hero, it is stated, took the whole land, according to what the lord 
said to moses ! surely ever}'' reader of these][^inconsistent fables who 
has arrived to his teens may discern that the stories are too wild and 
bold ever to have been written or told by any person while sober. 



JOSHUA : CHAPTER XII. 

The queen composer showeth her imagination to be distracted in 
respect to royalty, armies, and their appendages ; treating of thirty-three 
kings and their people being slain by this one servant of the merciful, 
kind invisible that she strives to terrify her people into belief of ; such 
cruel caprices being practised by it on people, that those ;Who are 
deluded into belief of cannot be happy while they meditate on such 
base delusions. 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER XIH. 

The lord tells joshua he is old and well-stricken in years, the com- 
poser's imagination of what to state about this hero appears to have 
suddenly changed, stating that he divides much land by lot ; and the 
dead moses is also represented as bestowing land to people ; but the 
lord does not say a word more than when he told joshua he was old. 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER XIV. 

A man states he was forty years old when moses, the servant of the 
lord, sent him to spy out land, and his brethren that went up with him 
made the heart of the people melt ; and he boasts of following the 
lord his god, and states moses sware on that day that the land his feet 
trod should be his and his children's forever ! and that the lord had 
kept him alive forty-five years, ever since the lord _^spake this word 



116 REVIEW OF THE 

unto moses. now, therefore, give me this mountain whereof the lord 
spake in that day ! and if the lord be with me i shall be able to drive 
the inhabitants out. thus have the words god and lord been in 
numerous instances used for a justification of rapine and murder, it 
is not pretended god spake a word. 



JOSHUA : CHAPTER XV. 



One man gives his daughter to his brother as wife for his smiting and 
taking a city ; but god does not say a word in the chapter. 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER XVI. 
It is not pretended god spake one word. 



JOSHUA : CHAPTER XVH. 
It is not pretended god spake_^a w^ord. 



JOSHUA: CHAPTER XVHL 
It is not pretended god spake a word. 



JOSHUA : CHAPTER XIX. 



It is not pretended god spake a word, the principal fables in the 
four chapters consist of stories about dividing land by lot. 



JOSHUA : CHAPTER XX. 

The composer assumes to know, or strives to make her vsubjects 
believe so, that a lord did tell Joshua to tell people to appoint cities 
that he that killeth a person unawares might flee to and stay until the 
death of the high-priest ! then the slayer may come into his own house, 
six cities are stated to have been appointed to receive those who killed 
any one without intention, a pretty liberal provision in a pretended 



BIBLE AND TESTAMENT. 117 

early part of the settlement of the earth, surely ! and far exceeding the 
bounds of probability, as the stories in both bible and testament gener- 
ally do, which can be discerned on perusal ; and it is desirable for the 
good-being and comfort of mankind that all people should give it one 
reading throughout. 



JOSHUA : CHAPTER XXL : 

Forty-eight cities are stated to have been taken from their^inhabi- 
tants and given to others, this statement shows the composer to be 
striving to confound the senses of her subjects with marvellous fables — 
as she hath done in the fourth of exodus with representations of an 
invisible spirit commanding moses to perform tricks of legerdemain — 
as she makes no statement how so many cities were wrested from their 
owners. the lord, she states, gave all their land to a set of people 
that it sware to give to their fathers ! and gave them rest round about^ 
as it sware unto their fathers ; and the lord delivered all their enemies 
into their hand ! thus hath the composer often represented her lord as 
acting the part of a warrior, and hath also, in plain style, bestowed on 
it the title of a man of war ; but does not pretend that any lord or god 
spake one word of this chapter, although the word lord is made free 
use of, and the name, from the first introduction of the bible, hath not 
been preached in vain, for millions have been paid for such like 
performances. 



JOSHUA : CHAPTER XXH. 

The composer appears to be aware that the words lord and god being 
made free use of had an effect to deject people and make them sub- 
missive ; which idea she would have been likely to have formed during 
her father's reign, while the vulgate bible was in use ; therefore she 
uses one or other of the words referred to, taken together, more than 
forty times in this chapter, but does not pretend that any such described 
spirit spake one word, but states a priest told the people, this day we 
perceive the lord is among us ! which corresponds tolerably well with 
the doctrine in the testament, that people must believe, or be forever 
cursed. 



118 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XXIIi: 

Joshua tells his people that one man of them shall chase a thousand, 
for the lord god fighteth for them as he promised ! some indecency is 
added, but no pretence that any lord or god spake a word, although 
those titles make a conspicuous feature in the chapter. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Joshua took a great stone ! and set it up under an oak, and told the 
people it had heard all the words the lord spake to them, and that it 
should be a witness unto them. so if the people were satisfied with 
the plan of this man, he might pretend the lord had given him much, 
and the big stone witness would never testify against one word that 
was spoken by the kind prophet who gave it a berth under the oak : 
and to make the best of such fabled jokes, they enable priests to live 
well, which their ease and appearance doth tell. 

JUDGES : CHAPTER I. 

A nation of people, it is stated, asked the lord who should fight first ; 
the lord tells them who, and that he had delivered the land into their 
hand ; so ten thousand men were slain,'and one man fled, and the party 
represented to have been favored by the lord cut off his thumbs and 
great toes ! and seventy kings are treated of as having had their thumbs 
and great toes cut off. repetition is made of a man having a ruler's 
daughter given to him for smiting a city, the same fable being also in- 
serted in the fifteenth of Joshua, the lord, it is stated, drove out the 
inhabitants of the mountains, but could not drive out the inhabitants of 
the valley, because they had iron chariots, this last statement com- 
pletely refutes the argument frequently made use of by enthusiasts, 
that there is nothing impossible with their god ! 

CHAPTER n. 

An angel, it is stated, told the people it madethem go out to egypt, 
and that it had brought them to the land it sware to their fathers ; and 
the people lifted up their voice and wept ! when the angel spake those 
words, that the people did so whenthey heard so, none can reasonably 
doubt ; and the fable is plainly a repetition of former similar stories, 
with the word angel inserted in lieu of the word god. the same in- 
visible's anger, it is stated, was hot against the Israelites, and it sold 
them to spoilers and delivered them into their hands, as the lord had 



JUDGES. 119 

sworn ! it is again stated the anger of the lord was hot against the 
same people : this is a contradiction that the same spirit was slow to 
anger. 

CHAPTEU III. 

Repetition is again made that the anger of the lord was hot against 

israel, and that he sold them into the hands of a king ! and after they 

had served this king the lord strengthened another king against them, 

whom they served eighteen years ! the composer does not state how 

much money her supposed lord received for selling the nation of people 

several times, but states it raised up a left-handed man as their deliverer, 

by whom they sent a present to a very fat king ! and the left-handed 

man whom the lord sent thrust a dagger into the fat king, blade and 

haft, so that the fat closed over it and he could not draw it out ! and 

thd murderer locked him in his parlor and escaped beyond the quarries, 

blew a trumpet, and told the israelites to follow him ; and his party 

slew about ten thousand lust}'' men of valor, not one escaped ; and 

shamgar slew six hundred men with an ox-goad ! this fable surely 

must convince every reader who hath also read the fable of samson 

killing a thousand men with the jaw-bone of an ass, that both stories 

have been fabricated by a person maintained in idleness, and who had 

yielded to dissipation that had overpowered their mental faculties during 

the hours appropriated to writing such wild fiction. 

I 

CHAPTER IV. 

It is again stated the lord sold the people of israel, after the fat king 
it sold them to before was dead, to another king who had nine hundred 
iron chariots. this king, thus defended against the power of the lord 
(according to the statement in the first chapter of kings, that it could 
not drive people who had iron chariots), oppresses the people he had 
bought of the said-to-be invisible lord twenty years ! and deborah, a 
prophetess who lived under a tree, told a captain the lord commanded 
him to take ten thousand men toward mount tabor, and she would draw 
the captain of the king's army, and all his iron chariots and his multi- 
tude into his hand, the commander tells the prophetess if she will go 
with him he will go ! and she went with him and commanded him to 
be up, telling him that was the day the lord had gone out before him ; 
so barak the captain pursued after the chariots and the host of sisera, 
and there was not a man of them left ; and sisera fled on his feet to the 
tent of a woman, who gave him some drink and drove a nail through 



120 REVIEW OF 

his temples while he was asleep, so god subdued that day, the com- 
poser doth say, king jahir, and the hand of the children of israel pre- 
vailed against jahir until they had destroyed him. thus it is to be seen 
that the composing queen frequently had her mind so much confused 
as to blend imaginary transactions of man and a supposed invisible lord 
together in enormous cruelties. 

CHAPTER V; 

This chapter contains a fabled song of a prophetess that had dwelt 
under a tree, and after having travelled with captain barak became a 
mother, in the song they tell the lord that when it marched out of a 
field the earth trembled, the heavens dropped, and the mountains melted ! 
and that in the days of shamgar the highways were unoccupied and the 
travellers walked through bye-ways, this man is the fabled hero w^ho 
slew six hundred men^with an ox-goad, as stated in the third chapter ; 
and in the song of the fabled jolly couple it is stated the stars fought 
in their courses against sisera ; and also that the woman who drove a 
nail through his temples, fastening his head to the ground, and smiting 
it off also ! should be blessed above all women in the tent. this 
manner of reward and praise has for centuries been bestowed on cruel 
commanders by monarchs. 

CHAPTER VI. 

This chapter is a fable of a king building a house for an invisible 
lord, with chambers round about, so the mormon prophet, joe smith, 
kept chambered saints and spiritual wives since, repetition is made 
that Solomon built the house for the lord, and overlaid it with pure gold, 
and made a partition with gold chains, and the oracle he also overlaid 
with pure gold ; which extravagant nonsense is repeated, the queen, 
as usual, allowing kings great power and possession of incredible 
wealth ! it is stated the lord talks to the king about the house he 
was engaged in building, wings, cherubims, carving, walls, carved 
figures, olive-trees, flowers, and a variety of other ornaments are 
treated of, generally covered with gold. 

CHAPTER VII. 

The queen states king solomon was thirteen years building his own 
house ! surely it need to have covered a hundred acres, when solomon 
had 150,000 workmen, with 300 overseers, as stated in the second chapter 
of the second book of chronicles, solomon also made a house for one 



JUDGES. 121 

of his wives ; the foundation even was of costly stones, and two pillars 
of brass were cast, twenty-seven feet in height, which took a line of 
thirteen feet to encompass them, and on their top was lily-work. 
a molten sea a hand thick, fifteen feet from brim to brim, standing on 
twelve oxen and ten brass bases, with lions, oxen, and cherubims on 
their ledges ; each base had four brazen wheels and plates of brass, 
the queen made also ten brass lavers, containing four hundred baths, 
this fable corresponds with the one of brass hills, also inserted in the 
said-to-be holy scriptures ; and the weight of brass, it is stated, was 
not found out. this brazen story fills thirty-two verses, and four more 
are filled with equally incredible stories about furniture and vessels of 
gold. 

CHAPTER Vlir. 

King Solomon and a congregation sacrifice sheep and oxen that could 
not be told for multitude ! thus hath the composer often stated that 
valuable beings were sacrificed, but no one that ever knew the care of 
raising such would set so slight a value on them as to be easily defrauded 
of them ; neither is it by any means probable that any other person 
than a monarch, surrounded with profusion and living in idleness, would 
have imagined anything so inconsistent, nor have been bold enough to 
write it without the stimulus of strong drink. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The queen states the lord appeared to king solomon after the king 
had finished the lord's house, and told the king he had hallowed the 
house, and that every one that passed by should be astonished and 
should hiss. surely such a rebuke would not be amiss to many who 
have squandered millions unnecessarily in large, costlj^ churches, that 
might have been devoted to useful purposes, contributing to relieve 
thousands of suffering deserving persons, the composer, in her usual 
style of inconsistency, states the father of Solomon's wife burned a city 
and gave it to his daughter ! and that solomon built the said city and 
three more, and all his stone cities, and chariot cities, and horsemen 
cities, and that which he desired to build in all the land of his domin- 
ions ! thus the queen continues showing she strove to make impression 
on the minds of her subjects that her fabled kings had reigned over 
people with more tyranny than her government, repetition is made of 
the number of officers over the people working for king solomon ; and, 
like most wine-bibbers, the composer shows forgetfulness by represent- 

9 



"1 * 

•^22 REVIEW OF 

ing their numbers one third more than her statement in chapter v. the 
composer also doth show she did of navies know ; and allows this 
fabled king to be such an adored thing as to have brought to him, by a 
navy of ships, 420 more talents of gold to add to the previous incredible 
store she had allowed him in other parts of her fiction, the queen 
states the king made this navy, and his servants went in it, and the king 
to the lord offered burnt-offerings three times a year. 

CHAPTER X. 

Queen elizabeth treats of the queen of sheba, king solomon, and an 
invisible lord ! and allows her fabled king solomon 120 more talents of 
gold, besides precious stones and spices from the fabled queen, who paid 
him a visit on account of hearing his fame ; and the fabled king gives 
the fabled queen all that she desires ; and the weight of gold that came 
to king solomon in one year was 666 talents, besides that he had of 
merchants, and of the kings of arabia, and of the governors of the 
country ; and the king made 200 targets of beaten gold, with 600 
shekels weight to each, and 300 shields of the same precious metal, of 
three pounds weight each, and overlaid a great throne of ivory with 
gold ; two lions stood beside its stays, and twelve lions stood on each 
side of the steps : and the king's drinking vessels were of gold, and the 
vessels of one of his houses were of pure gold ; none, she states, were 
of silver, it was accounted as nothing, the king had a navy at sea, 
which regularly brought gold, silver, apes, and peacocks ! surely the 
queen shows she aped to know more than was true, by her inconsistent 
and contradictory statements that the king had no vessels of silver ia 
his house, and that it was not accounted as anything, in verse 21, and 
then, in verse 22, to state the same king allowed his navy to perform 
three years' voyages to bring the good-for-nothing article, she hath 
plainly in this fable, as in most of her previous ones through the work 
she left, shown her mind to have been distracted by living in idleness 
and luxury. 

CHAPTER XI. 

This said-to-be holy chapter treats of a son of an harlot being a 
mighty man of valor, whose wife bare him sons, and they thrust out 
a half-brother, telling him he was the son of a strange woman, and 
should not inherit in their father's house ! this is a similar story to the 
one in 21st of genesis, about abraham and his son of a bond woman. 



JUDGES. 123 

being cast out and denied inheritance with the son of his wife sarah, 
alias sarai, that she brought forth after, when she was well stricken in 
years, according to that part of the fabulous writings the queen com- 
poser left ; both stories plainly appearing to be the fabrication of one 
disordered mind, the son of the strange woman tells the lord that if 
it will without fail deliver a certain nation of people into his hand then 
those who come from the doors of his house to meet him shall be the 
lord's, and he will offer it for a burnt offering ; and, to make the story 
strikingly romantic, the composer states his daughter, an only child, 
came out to meet him with timbrels and dances after he had slaughtered 
the inhabitants of twenty cities, and when he saw her he rent his 
clothes, and told her he had opened his mouth to the lord, and she told 
her fa.ther to do unto her according to what he had said, and requested 
him to let her alone two months, that she might bewail her virginity • 
at the end of which period the father did then with her according 
to his vow. the nation treated of, it is stated the lord did deliver into 
the hand of this cast out man. thus, in similar inconsistent style of 
composition, statements of extensive slaughters are imbodied in many 
of the chapters in the work left by elizabeth. 

CHAPTER Xri. 

Hi Treats of a man that could not pronounce a specified word right, 
who was on that account slain, and 42,000 more, and the compo- 
ser of the story general history gives the character of being cruel 
and unrelenting, allows this fabled cruel king's successor thirty 
daughters, thirty sons, and forty nephews, with seventy long-eared 
animals for his sons and nephews to ride on. camels and men she 
hath in other parts of her work represented as numerous as the sand 
on the seashore, cities springing suddenly into existence like mush- 
rooms, silver [and gold too plenty to be honestly told ; and in most of 
her statements far exceeding the bounds of everything known, and of 
all probability which experience hath proven to observing minds, is 
generally the case with great wine-bibbers, as elizabeth bears the 
character of having been, as the wit is known to leave the head 
when the body is filled with wine. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Contains a similar fable, of a barren wife, to two previous ones, 
with a similar story of an angel appearing to her, and telling of her 



124 REVIEW OF 

being barren ; as it is stated in genesis that an angel told the young 
wife of abraham she was with child, the angel, it is stated, tells the 
barren woman that she shall bare a son, and that no razor shall come 
on his head, surely natural sense and reason must convince every 
person who exercise them that these inconsistent fables of pretended 
knowledge and power of imaginary spirits, that no one can obtain a 
glimpse of, speaking to beings composed of visible substances, about 
materials that only concern those who use them, are as absurd and false 
as it is possible for any statement to be, and serve no other purpose than 
lo stupefy the minds of those who are deluded to believe them as sacred 
'truths, the barren woman tells her husband a man of God had told her she 
should bare a son ! thus it is seen, the composing queen generally, in 
her fables of barren women, allows them the company of man before 
they have a child; by which zig-zag composition she doth show that 
she did know the law of nature required it so, although she hath often 
striven, in various parts of the work she left, to make her subjects be- 
lieve children could come into the world by unnatural means, but in 
the stories of the old barren sarai and the beautiful young rebekah who 
Jacob kissed by the well, which by-the-by, it is a wonder if she did of 
it tell, each, hannah, mary, and others who the composer bestows each 
one a mate, that they might have more happy fate ; yet she blends with 
this a pretence of knowing something beyond earthly bliss, although in 
this she generally goes amiss of obtaining credit, as their gross incon- 
sistency and contradiction to nature make those statements a blunderr 
ing attempt at deception, the husband in this fable, as well as that 
about abraham and sarah, prepared refreshment for the fabled angel, or 
man of god ; for the object is treated of by both titles, as was the case 
in the fable of abraham and sarah, and lot and his daughters, all pro- 
ving each fable to have been the fabrication by one person of disordered 
imagination ; and as the queen composer never became a mother, it is 
not wonderful that she should frequently ruminate in her mind that 
married women were discontent on that account, the woman is stated 
to have been in the field alone when the angelic man came to her, and 
after a suitable time she brought forth a son, and named him samson. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Samson tells his parents to get a woman that he had fancied, and in 
his walk with them a roaring lion was met, and samson rent him ! and 
talked with the woman, who pleased him well ! a silly, useless riddle is 



JUDGES. 125 

also inserted, in which it is stated samson had thirty companions, and. 
that he slew thirty men, and his wife was given to his companion 

CHAPTER XV. 

Samson, it is stated, caught 300 foxes and put a firebrand between 
two tails, and let them go into standing corn, olive yards, and vineyards, 
and burned them and the shocks ; in addition to the inconsistent fable of 
one man catching 300 foxes and putting a firebrand between the tails 
of each couple, the composer shows that her imagination was too flighty 
and loose to consider that the 150 couple of faxes needed to have been 
fastened b}'' couples, and guided like oxen ploughing regularly through 
each standing; row of corn, but her disordered imagination hath allow- 
ed her to state more absurdities ; and that samson smote a nation of 
people hip and thigh with a great slaughter ! and that samson was 
bound with new cords and they became as burned flax, and he slew a 
thousand men with the jaw-bone of an ass, and that god clave an hollow 
in the bone, and water came out sufficient to raise the spirit of samson, 
when he had drank of it ! surely every reader of this and the pre- 
ceding fables of the queen's work, who strives to be guided by rea- 
son, must discern the compilation to be a blundering fiction. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

This said-to-be holy chapter commences with rudeness respecting 
an harlot and sampson, who lays until midnight, and then carries away 
the doors, gate, posts, and bar of the city on his shoulders to the top 
of a mountain ; and afterwards he loved a woman in a valley, and 
some lords requested her to entice him, and find where his strength 
lieth, each lord promising to give her eleven hundred pieces of silver, 
twenty verses are filled to finish this useless fable ; six more finish it, 
in which the composer showeth, as usual, that she lacked sober reflec- 
tion, by striving to make her subjects believe that a man had been so 
strengthened by an invisible lord that he pulled down a temple with 
one pull of his hands, each one holding a pillar that supported an 
edifice containing! many lords and thousands of people within, and 
about three thousand on its roof, destroying all and himself, thus it is 
in most chapters plain to be seen that the composer queen never 
lacked wild fancy in any part of the work she left. 



1 



126 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Begins with a fable about silver, and a man having a house full of 
gods; and the composer, after having in many previous chapters treated 
of kings by incredible numbers, and of the Israelites having had several 
over them, now states there was no king in Israel ! and that every 
man did that which was right in his own eyes, and that the man who 
owned a house full of gods hired a young man to serve him as father 
and priest ! engaging to furnish him a suit of apparel once a year, and 
furnish him with victuals, and pay him ten shekels of silver, and con- 
secrated the young man, and said he knew the lord would do him good, 
seeing I have a priest. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Repetition is made that there was no king in Israel, and also that a 
young man was hired to be a priest ; this priest, and the gods out of the 
house of the man who hired him, was stolen ! and when he pursued 
•with a company, the robbers asked him what aileth him ! he tells them 
they have taken away his god and his priest, surely the composer of 
the fable represents a god in ludicrous style. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Repetition is again made that there was no king in Israel, second 
verse contains an indecent statement about a concubine, a similar story 
to the one of lot offering two virgin daughters to a company of men to 
treat them as they pleased ; adding to the numerous preceding state- 
ments that show the work to have been composed by one person. 

CHAPTER XX. 

Nearly one million of w^arriors are treated of, seven hundred of them 
left-handed slino;ers of stone, each one could strike at an hair-breadth . 
and the composer states, people asked god who should first fight, 
plainly showing she considered her subjects such dupes that she could 
make them believe anything she choose to state, twenty-five thousand 
men of valor that drew sword fell one day. surely no person that 
devoted their time to any useful purpose would have fabricated such 
numerous horrid statements as are imbodied in the said-to-be holy 
bible ; but when notice is taken of the confession that queen elizabeth 
left the work, all its contents are readily accounted for as she was 
known to be a wine-bibber. 



RUTH. 127 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Twelve thousand men are again sent to smite men, women, and 
children with sword ; in verse eleven the females are commanded to be 
destroyed in the same rude style as is also stated in numbers 31 and 
17 ; and after allowing young virgins to be saved from slaughter, who 
were given to the soldiers for wives : in verse fourteen, they who were 
in last chapter surrounded and trod down by their opponents, are stated 
not to be satisfied with the virgin wives thus kept alive for them, so 
they are commanded to lie in wait in vineyards, and when the lasses 
come out to dance, every man to catch a wife, and it appears this 
command they did obey by each merry man catching a dancing lass 
and taking her to his home ; which appears to be the most pleasing 
of all the fables contained in the work elizabeth left, every man, 
she adds, did that which was right in his own sight. 

RUTH: CHAPTER I. 

In this said-to-be holy chapter, a useless silly account is given of a 
man and his family sojourning, and of the man dying, and his two sons 
marrying, and of their dying, and the old widow kissing the young 
widows, one of whom stays with her, and previous to any departure 
the old widow tells them she does not expect to have any more sons 
for them, fearing she was too old to get another husband, and asks 
her daughters-in-law if they would wait for a son of her, if she got 
a husband the next night, and tells her daughters the almight}^ had 
dealt very bitterly with her ; for she went out full, and the lord 
hath sent her home empty ! the whole chapter is a 'fable of talk of 
three women without pretence of one word from god. 

CHAPTER n. 

The oldest widow treated of in the first chapter is stated to have 
had a kinsman who was a mighty man of wealth, and one of the 
young widows entreats her mother-in-law to let her glean after him, 
that she might find grace in his sight, the mother approves of the 
scheme ; the rich man tells the young widow he had charged the young 
men not to touch her ; she bowed and asked boaz why she had found 
grace in his sight, and tells him he had comforted her ; and he reached 
her food to eat ; and boaz told his young men to let her glean even 
among the shearers ! although this statement may appear to those 
who have not seen london or its suburbs as not the kind of composi- 



128 REVIEW OF 

tion a queen, residing in buckingham palace, would be likely to form, 
those who are acquainted with that city know that fields of wheat are 
annually seen within walking distance of the residences of the monarchs 
of that country to this day. it is not pretended that god spake one 
word. 

CHAPTER III. 

The story continued of the elder and younger'^ widow watching after 
the rich bachelor farmer, boaz. the elder widow tells the younger one 
boaz will winnow barley to-night on the threshing-floor ; wash thyself 
and anoint thee, and get thee down to the floor, and when he lieth 
down, uncover his feet and lay down, and at midnight boaz discovered 
the young widow, and asked who she was ; she answers, thine hand- 
maid ruth, and requests him to spread his skirt over her. boaz prais- 
eth her for not following after young men, and for her kindness, and 
tells her now he will do to her all that she requires, and urges her to 
lie down until morning ; and in the morning he directs her to keep it 
secret about her coming to the threshing-floor, god does not speak a 
word of the chapter. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Boaz makes it known that he has bought the young ruth as his own, 
to be his wife, to raise up a name, and the witnesses said the lord 
maka the woman that is come unto thine house, like rachael and leah, 
which two built the house of Israel ; pharez, tamer, judah, and several 
other names that are treated of in former fables, imbodied in the work 
that queen elizabeth left, are treated of in this chapter, adding to the 
proofs that are plain thus far in most of the preceding chapters, that 
they have been composed by a person supported in idleness and luxury, 
from which course of life they had yielded to a licentious course of con- 
duct and study. The thirteenth verse of this chapter is a small item 
of one of the numerous records that this sort of study was predominant 
with the composer of the fiction, termed by some the word of the lord ! 
but it is not pretended that any invisible spirit spoke one word of this 
nor many other chapters. 

FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL : CHAPTER I. i 

A man had two wives ; one^^mourned because she continued barren, 
and endeavored to bargain with a lord to give her a man-child, making 
an offer that she will give it to the lord all the days of its life, and i& 



I SAMUEL. 129 

willing to agree that no razor should ever come on her son's head, but 
as experience hath in all ages shown mothers incapable of controlling 
sons to the age when razors are used, absurdity is added to that con- 
tained in the preceding part of the work elizabeth left, and shows she 
meditated on her own condition of passing her life in celibacy ! to the 
above she adds a tale of a priest seated on a post asking the praying, 
barren wife how long she would be drunken ! and commands her to 
put away her wine, this plainly shows the composer knew from ex- 
perience too free use of wine caused wild imaginings, she further 
states this fabled priest, by the name of eli, said that he had heard his 
sons lay with women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle ; 
which shows the composer knew much licentiousness was practised in 
crowded cities like london, where she resided, the once-barren woman 
gives birth to a son, and gave him suck until she weaned him ! and 
then took him and three bullocks, some flour, and a bottle of wincj to 
the house of the lord ! all showing the queen composer continued fond 
recollection of wine, the article beyond reasonable dispute that inspired 
her to form such compositions. 

CHAPTER II. 

The priest's custom was to send his servant, with flesh-hook in hand, 
having three teeth in it, to strike into the pan, kettle, cauldron, or pot 
while people were cooking, and whatever he got the priest took for 
himself ! and his servant commands people to roast meat, telling them 
the priest will not have sodden meat ; and if any man required him to 
wait until the fat was burned, and promised to let him take presently 
as much as his soul desired, he would answer, nay, but thou shalt give 
it me now, or i will take it by force ! here it can be seen that the wild, 
composing queen imagined it to be right her subjects to affright, by 
striving to make them believe priests had uncontrolled power over 
people and their property, even over their food while cooking, and gives 
further proof of not being in sober or suitable condition to compose with 
reason, as the most uninformed would instinctively know that if they 
cut meat into small pieces the priest's flesh-hook could not claw their 
meals away by once being struck into their cooking-vessels and pulled 
out. 

CHAPTER III. 
The child samuel ministered to the lord before eli the priest, and 



130 REVIEW OP 

the lord called samuel, who answered, here am i ! and the'lord called 
again and again, and came and stood, and called as at other times, 
Samuel, samuel, and told samuel it would do a thing that all ears 
that heard it should tingle, and said it had sworn to the house of eli ; 
and the lord appeared and revealed itself to samuel ! heie it can be 
plainly seen that the composer of this fable records her forgetfulness of 
the statement previously imbodied in the books of moses, that god hid 
the fabled murderer moses in the cleft of a rock, and covered him with 
its hand as it passed by, only allowing its fabled servant to see its 
hinder parts, declaring, at the same time, that no man] should see its 
face and live. 

CHAPTER IV.' 

The philistines saw god had come into the camp, and ask who shall 
deliver them out of the hands of the mighty gods who smote the 
egyptians with plagues, the philistines fight, and 30,000 men fall ; 
and a man ran with earth on his head, and when he mentioned the 
ark of god he fell and broke his neck ; and his daughter was with child ; 
she travailed, named her child, said the ark of god is taken, bowed 
herself, and died, here the composer again shows she meditated on 
her condition of celibacy. 

CHAPTER V. 

The fabled ark is set before a man by the name of dagon, who was 
found early next morning fallen on his face ; yet it is stated there was 
nothing left of him but his stump, and that his head and the palms of 
his hands were cut off. and god, it is stated, smote the men of the city, 
and they had emerods in their secret parts, but the composer doth not 
assume to know that any god, lord, or holy ghost spoke a word of the 
chapter any more than a post. 

CHAPTER VL 

Consultation is made about what shall be the trespass-offering for the 
lord, and the solemn council agree five gold emerods and five gold mice, 
and glory shall be given to god. a new cart is also commanded to be 
made, and two milch-kine that never had yoke on to be tied to it, and 
their calves brought home from them, the gold jewels are put on the 
cart, and the kine went off lowing ; and the cart was claven, and the 
oxen offered as a burnt- offering to the lord, here it is seen that the 



I. SAMUEL. 131 



composing queen was not in a condition to remember she had, in the 
same fable, represented the powers who drew the new cart as milch- 
cows, the lord, she states, smote 50,000 men because they looked 
into the ark ; and other men said, who is able to stand before this holy 
lord r surely lack of sober reflection is exhibited in this fable. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Samuel offers a suckling: lamb as a burnt-offerino; to the lord ! and 
cried to the lord ; and the composer of the fable assumes to know the 
lord heard samuel, but she does not pretend that any lord or god spake 
a word of the chapter. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

People tell samuel to make them a king ! this displeased sam, and he 
prayed to the lord, and the lord told sam to make them^a king ! and 
show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them, this 
fable evidently shows that the composer of it was nearly distracted in 
mind, while leading an idle, voluptuous life during the period she' was 
maintained in power as a ruling monarch, samuel, she states, rehears- 
ed the words of the people in the ears of the lord. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The tall king saul is sent by his father to find some strayed, long- 
eared animals, and the lord had told samuel in his ear, a day before 
saul came, that it. would send a man for him to anoint captain over its 
people ; and told sam that saul was the man ! and sam brought saul and 
his servants into the parlor, and told the cook to bring a repast, so saul 
did eat with sam that day ; and sam and saul went out abroad, and sam 
bid saul to let his servant pass on before, and commands saul to stand 
still while he would show him the word of god ! surely here is plain 
proof that the queen composer hath made free use of the words lord 
and god without believing any invisible spirits existed. 

CHAPTER X. 

Samuel pours oil on sauPs head, kissed him, and talked to him about 
the lord anointing him to be captain over its inheritance ; and sam 
tells saul he shall meet three men going up to god ; one carrying three 
kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle 
of wine ; after that, saul is to come to the hill of god, where is a garri- 



132 REVIEW OF 

son, and meet a company of prophets ; and sam prophecies that they shall 
prophecy ! and the spirit of the lord shall come on them ; and saul told 
his uncle the asses were found, surely, in this age of science and im- 
provement, a more true and useful doctrine need be taught the rising 
generation than all the preaching that can be ingeniously and carefully 
advanced from such composition. 

CHAPTER XL 

The spirit of god, it is stated, came on saul, and his anger was kindled 
greatly ! this kind of spirit the composer hath often attributed to her 
god, notwithstanding the statement in another part of the same work 
that such a spirit is full of mercy and loving-kindness, saul, while pos- 
sessing the spirit of god, hewed a yoke of oxen in pieces, sent them 
through the coast by messengers, saying, whosoever cometh not after 
saul and samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen ; and the fear of the 
lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent, surely 
nothing can be more clearly evident than that elizabeth, while compo- 
sing this fable, had her reasoning powers distracted by too free use of 
"wine, the article she often treats of as having made others stupidly bold ! 
she states the people made saul king before the lord ; thus, as usual, blend- 
ing fabled earthly monarchs with her pretended knowledge of an in- 
visible one ; and at the same time, throughout her various fables of 
such, showing palpably that she neither knew of any such, nor believed 
in their existence. 

CHAPTER xn. 

This said-to-be prophet samuel tells people that he is old and grey- 
headed ; and that the lord hath set a king over them, and tells them he 
will call to the lord, and he shall send thunder, thus the composing 
queen, as she hath often done, bestows the power to the hero of 
this fable to command a supposed invisible spirit, no god or lord 
speaks a word of this chapter. 

CHAPTER Xm. 

Samuel tells saul he hath done foolishly, saul blows a trumpet 
throughout all the land ; and philistines gathered with thirty thousand 
chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand on the 
sea-shore, smiths, shares, cutlers, axes, mattocks, files, forks, and 



I. SAMUEL. 133 

swords are treated of; also burnt-offerings, as usual ; but no pretence is 
made that any lord or god spake a word. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The watchman of the tall king saul saw the multitude melted away, 
and they beat down each other, and every man's sword was against his 
fellow ; and saul said, cursed be the man that eateth any food until 
evening ; and he asked counsel of god if it would deliver the philis- 
tines into his hand, and saul answered god, do so and more ! and there 
was sore war against the philistines all the days of saul' ; and when 
the tall king saul saw any strong or valiant man, he took him. thus 
the composing queen doth let it plainly be seen that in her wild im- 
aginings she thought it right other people should for monarchs toil and 
fight, and that, monarchs should do as they fancied with other men and 
their property. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Samuel tells saul the lord had sent him to anoint him king ! now 
go and slay all — man, woman, infant, suckling, ox, sheep, camel, and 
ass ; and saul gathered two hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand 
other men, and utterly destroyed the people with sword ; but spared the 
best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, and lambs» then the word of the 
lord came to samuel, saying it had repented of setting saul up to be 
king, which grieved samuel, and he cried all night to the lord ; and 
samuel told saul he would tell him what the lord said that night, that 
it had sent to destroy utterly, wherefore didst thou -save the spoil ? 
saul tells samuel he had obeyed the voice of the lord, and had utterly 
destroyed the amalekites ! but his people took sheep, oxen, and the 
things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the 
lord god ! saul confesses to samuel that he had sinned, and prayed 
samuel to be pardoned him ; and as samuel turned to go away saul 
caught samuel by his mantle, and it rent ; then samuel told saul to bring 
him a certain king, and samuel hewed him in pieces before the lord ; 
and the lord repented it had made saul king, this fable manifestly 
keeps pace with many others, exposing the cruel, relentless disposition 
of the authoress of them, and corresponds with the opinion given in 
general history, that queen elizabeth of england, with two other 
female monarchs, were the three most cruel and unrelenting females 
known. 



134 REVIEW OP 

CHAPTER XVI 

The composer states the lord asked samuel how long he would mourn 
for saul ! and that the lord told sam to fill his horn with oil, and that 
it had provided a king ; and sam said how can i go, if saul heard it he 
would kill me ! this is the same tall king saul who pleaded with sam to 
pardon his sins, in the preceding chapter, the lord tells sam to take a 
heifer, and say he had come to sacrifice to the lord ; and call Jessie to 
the sacrifice ; and anoint, unto me the one i name ! and the elders of 
the town trembled ! and the lord tells sam not to look on the counte- 
nance or the height of elijah's stature ; but a youth ruddy and beautiful 
was commanded to be anointed by the lord ; then sam took the horn 
of oil and anointed him ! and the spirit of the lord came on david 
from that day forward, this is the fabled man after god's own heart, 
and he who commanded a nation or tribe of people to be slaughtered, and 
had those who hid themselves put under saws, axes, and iron harrows, 
and done many other cruel deeds, according to the statements respect- 
ing him, in the said-to-be holy bible, yet the favor is bestowed on him 
of being able, by playing skilfully on a harp, to cause the evil spirits sent 
by god on saul to depart, and saul was well and refreshed, the 
queen also allows a bottle of wine to saul, showing again that she 
was too fond of the article, that inspired her to write nonsense so 
boldly. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Contains the fable of a small man killing a giant whose height was 
more than nine feet, with a brass helmet on his head, and mail coat 
weighing five thousand shekels, and a target of brass between his 
shoulders ; and his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron, and one 
bore a shield before him ; and david slew him by slinging a stone into 
his forehead, and took the giant's sword and cut off his head with it, 
and carried the head in his hand, this story, as well as the others that 
have preceded it, exceeds the bounds of probability, no lord speaketh 
a word of this. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

An evil spirit came from god on saul, and he was afraid of david be- 
cause the lord was with him. yet the composer states saul cast a jave- 
lin at david. saul offers to give one of his daughters to david, on con- 
dition that he be valiant and fight the lord's battles, surely this doth 
show that the composer did not know a lord that could do anything. 



} 



I. SAMUEL. 135 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Is a fable of king saul's daughter, who had become wife to david, 
hiding him when her father, through the evil spirit the lord had put on 
him, sought to kill david. It is not pretended that any lord or god 
spoke a word. 

CHAPTER XX. 

Many statements are made about a lord, but it is not jiretended any 
invisible or visible one spoke. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

David tells a priest that women have been kept from them about 
three days, so the priests gave him hallowed bread that was taken 
from before the lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken 
away, and david feigned himself mad, and scrabbled and let his spit- 
tle fall on his beard. 

CHAPTER XXn. 

Nab, a fabled city of priests, was smitten with the edge of the sword, 
both men, women, children, sucklings, oxen, asses and sheep, this is 
a repetition of a similar cruel story inserted a chapter or two previous, 
showing the same inconsistent imaginings had again got possession of 
the composer's mind. 

CHAPTER XXJII. 

David again inquires of the lord whether he shall go and smite peo- 
ple ; the lord says go ! david inquires of the lord yet again, and the lord 
said, arise, I will deliver the philistines into thine hand ! this corresponds 
with another part of the work elizabeth left, where it is declared god is 
a man of war. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

King saul takes 3000 chosen men, and went to seek david, who cuts 
off the skirt of the tall king's robe, many statements are made respect- 
ing a lord, but no pretence is set up that any such personage spake a 
word. 

CHAPTER XXV. 
A man had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats, and a wife of beautiful coun- 



136 REVIEW OF 

tenance. david sends ten men to ask this affluent man to give what- 
soever came to his hand to them in david's name, the man asks who 
is david ! shall I give what I have prepared for my shearers, to men I 
know nothing of. the men tell david this ; david then commands that 
each one gird his sword on, and david girded on his sword, and about 
400 men followed david, and 200 abode by the staff, the beautiful wife 
is informed of this procedure, and started off with ass loads of bread, 
fruit, and wine, but told not her husband ; she meets king david, and 
bowed herself to the ground before him, and begged him to hear the 
words of his handmaids, she tells the king her husband is a bad man, 
and that she did not see the men her lord had sent, and begs the king to 
remember her, styling herself his handmaid ; and david said to the fair 
abigal, blessed be the lord who sent thee to meet me, and received from 
her hand that which she had brought, and tells her he had accepted of 
her person, she tells her husband these things ; then his heart netled, he 
became as a stone and died ; then david said, blessed be the lord ! and 
david's servants told the fair abigal david had sent them to take her to 
him to wife, and she became his wife, david also took a lady of jezneel, 
and a daughter of king saul. thus the queen composer, as usual, bestows 
great power on the fabled king david, as well as on numerous other 
kings throughout her various fables that compose great part of the bible, 
the words god and lord are made free use of, but neither speak a word. 

CHAPTER XXVL 

The word lord is inserted sixteen times, and the word god is also in- 
serted ; yet it is not pretended either spake a word. 

CHAPTER XXVn. 

David dwells with two wives, and smote the land, leaving'neither man 
or woman alive, and took the sheep, oxen, asses, camels, and apparel, 
this, like a large number of the chapters of the bible, contains no pre- 
tence of the writings being either written by a superior power to man, 
or of having been inspired by any invisible spirit to have been written. 

CHAPTER XXVni. 

Contains a fable of king saul disguising himself and calling on a 
woman by night, requiring her to bring up who he should name, the 
woman asks why he layeth a snare for her ; saul tells her to bring up 
Samuel ; and when she saw sam, she criedjaloud, and said she heard 



II. SAMUEL. 137 

gods ascending out of the earth, the king asks, what form is he .-' she 
said, an old man cometh covered with'a mantle ; and the king perceived 
it v^as Samuel, and sam said to saul, vv^hy hast thou brought me up? 
saul tells sam, that thou make known to me what i shall do ! thus 
the composer continues striving to make her subjects believe she knew 
an invisible lord who could perform impossibilities, which she attempts, 
undoubtedly, while in an unfit condition, to compose with a semblance 
of truth or reason. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Is another fable about david and the philistines, princes and angels, 
repetition is made of the women singing ; of king saul killing thousands, 
and david tens of thousands, which theme would not be likely to cause 
mirth in the minds of many, except queen elizabeth of england, Cathe- 
rine of russia, and joan of ark. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

David again inquires of the lord, if he shall pursue after a troop ; 
the lord tells him to do so. they were spread on all the earth, and 
david smote them ; not one escaped, except 400 young men on camels, 
and david took all the flocks and herds, and sent presents to his 
friends, saying it was from the spoil of the lord's enemies. thus 
hath an example been set by pretence of slaughters and robberies, 
being a service and duty to an imaginary invisible spirit. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

The fabled king saul doth fall on his sword, and when'his armor- 
bearer saw saul was dead, he fell on his sword, and died with the king, 
and saul's three sons also died ; but it is not stated what caused their 
death ! the probability is the composing lass had taken too many 
glasses of strong wine, the article she treats of so frequently through the 
work she left, saul's head is stated to have been cut off, and his body 
fastened to a wall ; but in the course of a few m^ore chapters the com- 
poser records she had forgotten this statement, andjreats of saul being 



alive again. 



II. SAMUEL : CHAPTER I. 



Repetition is made of the story of a man with rent clothes, and 

10 



138 REVIEW OF 

earth on his head, this fabled odd fellow tells king david that he took 
care of king saul's crown and bracelet, and had brought them to his lord, 
then david told saul to fall on him ! so he was slain, saul and Jona- 
than, it is stated, were swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions ! 
surely no one person who strives to be guided by reason can respect 
such fables as true or useful to mankind. 

CHAPTER II. 

The fabled david and two of his wives are again treated of, and 
twelve of david's servants, every one caught his fellow by the head 
and thrust his sword in his fellow's side ! one is stated to have been 
as light on foot as a wild roe. surely he might have escaped ; yet it is 
stated he was smote under the fifth rib, so that the spear came out be- 
hind him. 

CHAPTER III. 

This fable gives account that david waxed stronger, and had six sons 
born to him ; and the name of saul's concubine is recorded, one man 
charges another in lewd style of having made free with his father's con- 
cubine ; and lewd repetition is made of the manner which david recom- 
pensed king saul for allowing him one of his daughters to wife, anoth- 
er man went along behind his wife, who was taken from him weeping, 
the fable ends with david declaring himself weak. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Saul's son had a lame son, and his nurse fled with him ; she fell, and 
the lame became lame, a man was smote under the fifth rib, and slain, 
and beheaded. repetition is made of david slaying the man who 
brought him word saul was dead, david here commands others to be 
slain, and their hands and feet were cut off, and they were hanged up 
over a pool. 

CHAPTER V. 

David is again anointed king, surely more than reasonable power 
hath been bestowed on him as an arbitrary cruel monarch, heretofore 
taking men's lives and wives without trial or council, this fabled king 
and man after god's own heart passes a decree that whosoever smiteth 
the lame and the blind that he hateth shall be chief and captain, repeti- 



II. SAMUEL 139 

tion is made that david inquires of the lord if it would deliver the 
philistines into his hand, and the lord says doubtless he will ; the com- 
poser having several times made statements to the same effect, records 
forgetfulness, and she again states, when david inquired of the lord, it 
told him to fetch a compass and come on them over against the mul- 
berry-trees, and when he heard a sound going in their tops to bestir 
himself, and the lord would go out before him to smite the host of the 
philistines. this also corresponds with the statement that our god is a 
man of war. it and david are also represented to have hearts alike. 

CHAPTER VI ; 

David gathers thirty thousand chosen men, and went, with all the 
men that were with him, to bring up the ark of god, which was set on 
a new cart, which hath been stated in a previous chapter ; and the com- 
poser appears to have forgotten her statement of the new cart being 
clavenand burned, or otherwise thinks people are to make new carts as 
fast as she can form her different wild fables, she states the driver 
who had care of the cart and ark took hold of the ark, for the oxen 
shook it ; and the anger of the lord was kindled against this careful 
driver, and god smote him, and he died by the ark of god. surely no 
other person but a monarch maintained in idleness and luxury would 
ever have been bold enough to have composed such wild fables that are 
embodied in the work queen elizabeth left, and her successor had pub- 
lished and palmed, by the aid of well-paid priests, on mankind as sacred 
and holy truths, david brings up the fabled ark into the city of david, 
and sacrificed oxen and fatlings, and danced before the lord with all his 
might, girded with a linen ephod ; and one of his wives looked through 
a window, saw him dancing and leaping before the lord, and she despised 
him in her heart, eatables and wine, the queen allows, were made free 
use of on this imaginary affair ; but the great probability is, she had 
taken too much while composing the fable. 

CHAPTER VII. 

It is stated god said he had walked in a tent; why not build me a 
house of cedar .'* tell david i took him from the sheepcote, from follow- 
ing the sheep to be ruler over my people, this statement does not cor- 
respond well for such a power to tell, if it could make all things 
in six days ; for such a creator could rule all without aid-de-camps, 



140 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER VIII; 

The fabled man after god's own heart again smites the people god 
had several times promised to deliver into his han(|s, and smote moab 
also, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground ! 
he measured them with two lines to put to death, and with one to 
save alive, and david took one thousand chariots, and seven hundred 
horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and houghed all the chariot 
horses, reserving for an hundred chariots ; and he slew twenty-two thou- 
sand Syrians also, and took the gold shields, and exceeding much brass, 
and the lord preserved david whithersoever he went, this is too brazen 
a story, surely, to have been imagined by any sober person, david 
dedicates all the silver and gold he had stolen to the lord, and gat him 
a name when he returned from smiting eighteen thousand in the valley 
of salt. 

CHAPTER IX. 

King david has great homage paid him by people bowing before him, 
calling themselves his servants, and falling on their faces, reverencing him 
as lord ; and one of the bowers compares himself before david as a dead 
dog, expressing surprise that a king should look on him. surely none 
but a haughty monarch would ever have contrived such a fable, to rep- 
resent fellow-beings so debased ! 

CHAPTER X. 

Kepetition is made that david's servants had one half of their beards 
shaven off, andUheir garments cut ofFby their buttocks, and ki«g hanum 
sent them away greatly ashamed, and when these offenders saw they 
stunk before david, they hired thirty-three thousand men, and david sent 
all the host of mighty men, and passed over Jordan, the Syrians fled, and 
david slew the men of seven hundred chariots and forty thousand horse- 
men, thus the composer, as usual, bestows great power on her iabled 
kings. 

CHAPTER Xt. 

King david espied a beautiful woman washing herself, and sent mes- 
sengers to take her, and he lay with her, for she was purified, the 
husband of the beautiful woman slept with the king's servants, the 
king asks him why he did not go to his own house, the man tells the 



II. SAMUEL. 141 

ting, calling him lord, that his servants encamped in the open fields, 
and says, shall i then go to my house and lie with my wife ^ david gets 
him drunk, and sent a letter by him with a command wrote in it to 
have him set in the forefront of the hottest battle, and he was slain, 
and the commander sent word of this to the king, a man after god's own 
heart; so says the fable. 

CHAPTER XII. 

It is stated the lord tells david it will take his wives and give them 
to his neighbor, who shall lie with them, and the man nathan tells 
david he shall not die ; but the child that is born unto him shall die. 
and the Iprd struck the child Uriah's wife had borne to david, and it 
was very sick and died, then david did eat, and he comforted his 
wife bath-sheba, and lay with her, and she bare solomon. david fights 
against rabbah, takes it, and took the king's crown, weighing a talent of 
gold, with precious stones, and it was set on david's head, and he put 
the people under saws, iron harrows, and axes, and made them pass 
through the brick-kiln, had the composer of the fable been sober, she 
might have made this last part appear rather more probable, by stating 
the minced-up people were drawn through the brick-kiln, the fable 
evidently holds forth inducements for barren wives to wish they could 
have the same chance as Uriah's wife ; to be with a well-fed king. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

A man was so much in love with his sister that he fell sick for her. 
she was a virgin ; another man recommends him to lay down on his 
bed and make himself sick ! and to tell his father to let this sister dress 
some meat in his sight, that he might eat it from her hand, and when 
she brought the meat and cakes to him, he caught hold of her and said, 
come lie with me, my sister ! and the sick man being stronger than his 
sister, forced her, and afterward hated her exceedingly, this evidently 
is an indecent and an improper fable to be read in schools, or where both 
sexes are present, the wild composer adds, her brother's servant, 
brought her out and bolted the doors after her, and she remained deso- 
late in another brother's house, this tale of deception, it appears, lays 
the foundation of another, to keep pace with it in the mind of its com- 
poser ; she states that the brother who let the sister stay at his house 
invited all the kings sons, and requested the king to let the brother go 
■who had treated his sister ill ; he also commands his servants to mark 



142 REVIEW OF 

when the brother's heart was merry with wine to kill him, and his ser-^ 
vants did so, and every man got on his mule and fled, this had been 
determined on by the one brother, from the day the other forced the 
sister ; au improper fable to be palmed on mankind as sacred and holy, 
and shows that it must have been composed by a person of licentious 
habits. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

A man told a wise woman to feign mourning, and put on mourning 
apparel, and anoint herself with oil, and be as though she had mourned 
long for the dead ; after this instruction, the woman spake to the king, 
did obeisance, and fell with her face to the ground, and told him her 
husband was dead ; calls the king lord, and tells him he is wise accord- 
ing to the wisdom of an angel of god. one man is treated of as being 
more beautiful, from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, than 
any one in israel ; the hair of his head weighed two hundred shekels^ 
and he only polled it once a year, and his servants set another man's 
field on fire by his command, and then says, let the king kill me if there 
is any iniquity in me, and bowed himself to the ground before the king* 
and the king kissed him ! thus the queen composer continues through 
many of her fables to bestow great power on kings, while she debases 
their subjects. 

CHAPTER XV. 

A king's son prepares chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before 
him. a course of servile flattery is added in a statement, that when any 
man offered obeisance to this prince, he put forth his hand to take him, 
and kissed him, by which means he stole the hearts of all men of israel. 
then he sent spies through the land, and directs them to say, absalom 
reigneth. soon as they hear the sound of the trumpets, his conspiracy 
was strong, this is the fawning prince who kissed all the men of israel ; 
with him went 200 men, and people increased with him continually, 
and went in their simplicity ; they knew nothing, beyond reasonable 
dispute, the queen composer must have taken this view of her subjects 
while she wrote this and the preceding fables, that are embodied in the 
work she left, which hath been published by her successor, king david 
becomes afraid of this conspiring prince, and went forth with his house- 
hold after him, leaving ten concubines to keep house ; and a man tells 
king david, as the lord liveth, and as his lord the king liveth, he would 



II. SAMUEL. 143 

be in the place where his lord the king should be ; whether in life or in 
death, there he would be ; his servant, and every man who was with the 
king, wept as they went ; another fabled odd fellow came to meet the 
king, with his coat rent, and earth on his head, nothing more holy can 
be found in this chapter. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

King david meets a servant man with two asses saddled, loaded with 
bread, fruit, and wine ; this is thus far a similar fable to the one of the 
cavalcade under command of the beautiful woman who david accepted, 
and took as a wife ! a man curses king david, and another man asks the 
king to let him take off that man's head, another man recommends a 
prince to visit his father's concubines, in the freest manner, and in in- 
decent style of language, the prince visited his father's ten concubines 
according to the counsel of ahithophel, whose counsel was as if a man 
had inquired of the oracle of god ! so was his counsel with king and 
prince, nothing more holy can be found in this said-to-be holy scrip- 
ture. 

CHAPTER XVn. 

Is a fable of or prophecy that hearts of valiant men whose hearts are 
as lions shall melt ; and of counsel being given that people be gather- 
ed for multitudes as the sand by the sea ! and if david be found in the 
cit}'-, all Israel shall bring ropes, and draw the city into the river, thus 
the queen plans for the inhabitants to be left to shiver, while she could 
sumptuously dine, and become bold by the inspiration of wine ; seated, 
or reclining in a comfortable warm palor. two men are represented to 
strive not to be seen, and a wench told of it; nevertheless, a lad saw 
them, but they went to a well quickly, and a woman spread a cloth 
over it, and spread ground corn thereon ; and said the men were gone 
over the brook ; and when the princes servants who sought for the 
hidden men, they came out of the well, and did of their enter- 
prise king david tell ; who told them to pass quickly over the water, 
and david and all who were with him did so, and a counsellor saddled 
his long-eared animal, got him to his house, put it in order, and hanged 
himself, then people brought beds, basons, earthen vessels, wheat, 
barley, flour, parched corn, beans, lentiles, parched pulse, honey, but- 
ter, cheese, sheep and kine, for king david and the people that were 
with him. nothing more holy can be found in this chapter. 



144 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The composer states people told king david he was worth ten thou- 
sand of them, and from the style of the work queen elizabeth left, it is 
made to appear she considered herself worth as much, and most of her 
fabled monarchs also, absalom's head gets caught in the boughs of an 
oak as he was riding ; ten men slew him. in his lifetime he had reared 
a pillar, and called it after his own name, and it is called to this day 
absalom's place, david sat between two gates, and a watchman went 
to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and saw a man running, and 
cried aloud to the king ; and the watchman saw two others running, 
and cried to the porter ; another man called to the king, bowed, and fell 
on his face to the earth before the kins:. 

o 

CHAPTER XIX: 

King david is rebuked by a man for exhibiting unmanly grief for the 
loss of a son ; who tells him he hath shamed the faces of all his servants 
who had saved the lives of his wives, concubines, and children, and 
that it was perceived that if absalom had lived and all his servants had 
died that day, it had pleased him well ; and that he loved his enemies 
better than his friends ; and the servant adds, he swears by the lord, if 
the king does not go forth, it will be worse for him than all the evil 
that befel him from his youth, thus the composer exceeds the bounds 
of probability in this simple fable, as well as all her preceding ones 
that are embodied in the work she left, styled, under the authority of 
her predecessor, the holy bible, a ferry-boat went over Jordan to carry 
the king, and he swear unto shimei, and said unto him, thou shalt not 
die ! and a son of saul came down to meet the king, who had neither 
dressed his feet, trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes ; and told 
the king, thy servant hath deceived me ; for he said he would saddle an 
d,ss to ride, and hath slandered thy servant to my lord the king, but my lord 
is an angel of god. a man of fourscore asks the king why he should be yet 
a burden to his lord the king, and asks the king to let him die and be 
buried, and the men of judah said they had ten parts of the king, and 
that they had more right in him than others, thus the composing queen 
hath left plain record that her mind was distracted by leading an idle, vo- 
luptuous life, together with the power she held, nothing was too great for 
Tuling monarchs, neither was the most abject servility too debasing for 
their subjects, although she occasionally garnished such statements with 
boldness in monarchs servants,wine might have caused this inconsistency. 



II. SAMUEL. 145 

CHAPTER XX. 

A man blew a trumpet, and said his people had no part in david. 
but the men of judah clave to their king, and the king put his ten con- 
cubines in ward, and they were shut up in widowhood to the day of 
their death ; and the king commands that a certain man get him fenced 
cities and escape, and joab's garment was girdled, with a sword on his 
loins fastened ; yet it fell, he asks his brother if he was in health, and 
took him by the beard to kiss him, and smote him by the fifth rib, vshed- 
ding his bowels out, so that he died, a wise woman cried, hear, hear, 
i pray unto joab, the words of thine handmaid, he said, i hear, she 
tells him she is one of them that are peaceable and faithful, she tells 
joab he seeketh to destroy a cit3^ he says the matter is not so. the 
head was cut off a man, and thrown to joab, he blew a trumpet and 
returned to the king, nothing more holy can be found in this fable. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

King david and a three-years' famine are treated of. the king in- 
quires of the lord, who tells him it is for saul and his bloody house, 
here the composer adds great inconsistency to her assumption of know- 
ing a lord full of mercy and kindness, equity, &c., as she here repre- 
sents the same supposed invisible causing people to die a cruel deathj 
when it attributes no crime to them, the king is told by people they 
would not have any silver or gold from the bloody house, and requests 
the king to cause seven 5'oung men to be delivered to them, and they 
would hang them, but the king spared one of the brothers, because of 
the lord's oath, surely if such a lord was ever known as could make 
the earth in a day, it would neither swear or pray. 

CHAPTER XXn. 

King david speaks the word of a song to the lord, and says the lord 
drew him out of many waters, because he delighted in him, and the 
lord rewarded him according to his righteousness, and had recompensed 
him. according to this part of elizabeth's work, she strives to make 
it appear that a robbing, murdering, adulterous king was the right kind 
of thing to be rewarded by her supposed lord, the fabled king declared 
he had kept from iniquity, and departed not from the statutes of the 
lord, and was always upright before it ; therefore the lord had recom- 
pensed him, according to his cleanness in its eyesight ; and tells a 



146 REVIEW OF 

flattering tale to the lord, that it hath girded him with strength to battle j 
and boasts of having wounded, destroyed, and consumed people ; and adds, 
then did I beat them small as dust, and stamped them as the mire of the 
street ; therefore I will give thanks unto thee, o lord, sad is the 
knowledge that thousands of well-disposed persons respect such com- 
pilations as good or useful, or the book which contains them, without 
knowing its contents ; for if such people would read the book more, 
they could not fail to discern that it is a wild, blundering fiction ; and 
that it showeth itself to have been written by a ruling monarch, devoid 
of kind feelings, and of a cruel, unrelenting disposition, whose mind was 
distracted with pride, power, and extravagances of a monarch's court, 
and its hosts of attendants, armies, and other appendages ; and that their 
meditation and aid might be more usefully appropriated in various ways 
to the improvement and comfort of their fellow-beings they would get 
convinced. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

King david's word, the anointed of god ! this fabled king says the 
word of god was in his tongue, a number of droll-sounding names are 
recorded as being king david's mighty men ; one slew at one time with 
his spear eight hundred — another of these odd fellows smote his fellow- 
beings until his hand was weary, and it clave to the sword ; and the 
lord wrought a great victory that day ! again it is stated, the lord 
wrought a great victory ! king david longs and prays for water, and 
when it was brought to him he would not drink, a man slays a lion in a 
pit, going into it, and having a tete-a-tete with the monarch of the for- 
est, and slew a goodly man with his own spear, by perusal and ob- 
servation the contents of the bible show inconsistency and folly 
throughout. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

The anger of the lord is stated to have been again kindled against Is- 
rael, and he moved their king against them ! surely such a cruel king, 
who commanded to have people put under saws, axes, and iron harrows, 
and drawn about, and that without having any blame to lay to their 
charge ; and cut off men's heads that strove to be his humble servants, 
did not need being moved to act cruelly by any invisible aid. the com- 
poser of the fable, after thus bestowing so much power and trust from 
her lord to her hero david, states the lord sent word to him, by his seer, 



I. KINGS. 147 

that he should choose either seven years famine, fleeing three months 
before his enemies, or three days pestilence in his land, david says he 
is in a strait ! so the lord sent pestilence, and seventy thousand men 
died ; and the lord repented, and told the angel by the threshing-floor, 
it is enough f and the king spake to the lord when he saw the angel, 
and a man saw the king's servants coming, and bowed himself to the 
ground before the king, kings elevated and people debased is one of 
the principal themes of the bible that was left by elizabeth. 

I. KINGS : CHAPTER I. 

King david, it is told, was old ; and though covered with clothes, got 
no heat, so the coast was searched through, and a fair damsel was 
brought to the king to cherish him, which she did and ministered unto 
him, but the old king did not do such a thing as to take unbecoming 
liberties with the virgin ! but a young prince exalted himself, saying he 
would be king ; and prepared chariots and horsemen, also fifty men to 
run before him ! surely such a dashing young blade would have far out- 
vied the old, cold king in the estimation of the choice fair young dam- 
sel, the dashing young prince slew sheep, oxen, and fat cattle, and 
called all the king's sons, and servants ; and a man asks Solomon's mother 
if she had not heard that this dashing and treating prince reigned, and 
that david our lord knoweth it not ! say to king david, didst not thou, 
my lord, swear solomon should reign after me, and sit on my throne I 
and Solomon's mother did obeisance to the king, and he asked her what 
wouldst thou ? the queen tells the king, adonijah reigns, and hath slain 
creatures in abundance, and called all the sons of the king, and a priest 
and a captain ; and tells the king the eyes of the people are on him, 
expecting him to tell v/ho shall sit on the throne of my lord the king 
after him. king david swears to this fair queen, who he stole from her 
husband, that her son solomon shall reign, and commands that a priest 
and a prophet be called to him, and also his servants, and cause my son 
solomon to ride on my mule j and let the priest and the prophet anoint 
him, that he sit on my throne, for he shall be king in my stead ; and the 
priest anointed solomon with oil, blew the trumpet, and all the people 
said god save king solomon ! surely such bold pretences of lord god 
and king in hereditary style, blended together, would never have been 
made by any other being than an inebriate monarch. 

CHAPTER n. 

King david tells solomon that the lord talked to him about the throne 



148 REVIEW OF 

of israel. solomon seats himself on this throne, and one of his brothers 
pleads to have a certain damsel given him to wife, king solomon 
swears by the lord ; adonijah hath spoken against his own life, and says, 
as the lord liveth he shall be put to death this day, and sent a man who 
fell on him that he died, here the composer makes an imperfect fable, 
showing her mind was not sufficiently stable to remember she had stated 
the commands of the god she assumes to know as immutable were 
strictly against men killing each other, or of any one killing sister or 
brother, and while she makes a favored one of the lord a murderer, in- 
consistency is plain to be seen, solomon sends the slaughterer to a 
tabernacle, where another brother had fled through fear of solomon, 
"who commands the murderer to fall on this man also, god tells king 
solomon he hath given him riches and honor, so that there shall not be 
any among kings like unto him all his days, the composer here attrib- 
utes an act of unjust partiality to her god, by stating it bestowed riches 
and honor in profusion on a king, who, contrary to its commands, com- 
menced his reign in a murdering manner, yet she states god told this 
sinful, cruel king there should none arise after him like him, which in- 
dicates that the composer might not have been so highly inspired by 
strong drink while forming this last sentence as she had been while 
writing the former part of the fable, and that she considered the fabri- 
cation of her fabled king solomon was such that no reality of the kind 
could happen during her reign, or that of any succeeding monarchs. 

CHAPTER IIL 

King solomon makes affinity with the drowned king pharaoh, and 
took his daughter to the city of david until he had built an house to put^ 
her in, and an house for the lord, and a wall round the city of Jerusalem ; 
and solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar, and the lord 
appeared to the fabled king solomon in a dream, and asked him what he 
should give him. solomon tells the invisible that it had bestowed great 
kindness to his father by giving him a son to sit on his throne, surely 
if there had been a particle of truth in the statements of the fabled david 
having the number of wives that the queen hath allowed him in former 
chapters of her work, he would have had sons enough to form a tribe 
of kings, the queen assumes to know Solomon's speech pleased her 
lord, and that it tells solomon there shall no king arise after him equal 
to him ; then solomon made a feast to all his servants, and offered burnt 
offerings ; two harlots came before him who had slept in one bed, with 



I. KINGS. 149 

a child each ; one child was overlaid and died — both claim the living child. 
Solomon proposes to divide the child, and give each one half ; one woman 
was not willing to have the child killed, preferring to let the other woman 
have the child alive ; solomon decides to give the child to the com- 
passionate mother, but not until after the other woman objected to take 
the child, which stamps the fable as being made by a composer w"hile 
not able to compose in a corroborating style ; for as solomon hath been 
portrayed to possess arbitrary power, it was imperfect logic to repre- 
sent a woman objecting to the decree of such a powerful king, and more 
especially to object taking the child she had been claiming and had 
troubled this royal monarch about. 

CHAPTER IV. 

King solomon had twelve officers, which provided victuals for the 
king and his household, each made provisions one month in a year, the 
names of these royal cooks are recorded in this said-to-be holy chapter- 
one was honored with a daughter of the king for a wife, sixty great 
cities are treated of, having walls and brazen bars, another of the 
monthly cooks of the king also had one of his daughters to wife ; and as 
queen elizabeth hath so liberally allowed ccoks, her imagination ap- 
pears to have led her to state people were eating and drinking, and mak- 
ing merry in multitudes as the sand on the sea-shore ; and solomon 
reigned over all kingdoms, from the river to the land of the philistines, 
and to the border of egypt. here the composer appears to have borne 
in mind that her fabled pharaoh reigned over egypt. she allows her 
fabled solomon for one day's provisions thirty oxen, an hundred sheep, 
besides harts, roebucks, fallow deer, fatted fowl, and ninety measures of 
fine flour and meal, and allows him forty thousand stalls of chariot 
horses, according to this statement, he must have had at least eighty 
thousand horses, twelve thousand horsemen are allowed him, and god 
gave solomon wisdom and largeness of heart, even as the sand on the 
sea-shore ; and he was wiser than all men. elizabeth's statement that 
this hero's conduct corresponded or showed wisdom does not appear, 
if he had one thousand female companions ; as that would only allow 
him to spend one day in about three years with each one ; neither does 
his management of keeping one hundred and fifty thousand men employ- 
ed preparing materials, carrying them, and working at one house, with 
three thousand three hundred to rule them, as stated in next chapter. 



150 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER V. 

The king of tyre sent his servants to king solomon, and king solomon 
sent to king hiram proposals to build an house to the name of the lord 
god ; the lord, he states, had spoken to his father about it, and told his 
father it would set him on his throne, then king hiram rejoiced ex- 
ceedingly, and tells king solomon he will do all he desires, and would 
convey timbers by sea. and king solomon raised a levy of thirty thou- 
sand men, and had seventy thousand to bear burdens, and eighty thou- 
sand hewers in the mountains, with three thousand and three hundred to 
rule over the workmen, the only source from which such wild fables 
have sprung, as acknowledged in the dedicatory address to the first 
king James of england, which forms the preface of thousands of bibles, 
is, that this monarch's predecessor, queen elizabeth, left the work ; and 
as her character was known to be that of a wine-bibber, it evidently 
appears she must have been under the inspiration of wine generally 
during the hours she devoted to writing the work, and her periods or 
intervals of sobriety have undoubtedly been too brief to afford her op- 
portunity to examine her work, added to the cause of her suffering such 
absurd fables to remain till she died, her arbitrary, unrelenting, bold 
disposition must have caused her to be unwilling to be moderate. 

CHAPTER VI. 

King Solomon's incredible house is further described ; no hammer^ 
axe, or iron tool was heard in the house while it was building, the 
lord talks to the king again about ^ the house, the house, the oracle, 
and the altar were all overlaid with gold, cherubs and cherubims gar- 
nish the fable and adorn the imaginary house ; they also carve this 
fabled house, it was seven years building, and overlaid with gold, 
surely the hundred and fifty thousand workmen must have been lazy 
fellows. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

King solomon was building his own house thirteen years ; this it might 
have been expected, if the case had been detected ; by an invisible eye, 
said to be able all to espy : had the wearer of such an eye not been jeal- 
ous before, he would be jealous now, if king solomon bestowed nearly 
double the time on his own house as he did on that of so mighty a 
power ; and if it had, as represented, been jealous before, it would on 



I KINGS. 151 

this account have jealousy much more, king solomon also made an 
house for king pharaoh's daughter, who was one of his wives ; even the 
foundation was of costlv hewed stones or sawed ones, and kinoj solo- 
mon had king hiram's father, a cunning worker in brass ; he cast two 
brass pillars, each twenty seven feet high, and eighteen feet in circum- 
ference, with molten brass chapiters to set on their tops, of seven and 
a half feet in height above the pillars, surely he must have been a 
cunning worker in brass, with bold proof of that, or the queen must 
have felt brazen who wrote the fable ; this cunning workman makes al- 
so a molten sea, fifteen feet from brim to brim, forty-five feet in circum- 
ference, and numerous other wonderful things, fifty-one verses are 
filled with similar composition : so king solomon built the house and fin 
ashed it. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

King solomon assembled all the heads of tribes to bring up the fa- 
bled ark out of king david's city, and all the elders and priests took up 
the ark ; and king solomon and those who were with him sacrificed 
before the ark, sheep and oxen, that could not be told or numbered for 
multitude ! and the priests brought the ark into the most holy place, 
under the wings of the cherubims ; and a cloud filled the holy place, 
so that the priests could not stand to minister, surely this fable, like 
most of the preceding ones, could only have been written under the in- 
spiration of strong drink, king solomon tells the lord he had built it an 
house to abide in forever, in a settled place ; and the king turned his 
face about, and said the lord spake with its mouth to his father, and 
said it had chosen him to be over its people, and told him he should 
not build it an house, but a son shall come forth of his loins, the com- 
poser of this fable, as well as in many of the preceding ones, records her 
forgetfulness of what she had stated about speeches and actions of her 
imaginary invisible spirit ; for in a former fable she states god said no 
man should see its face and live, king solomon spreads forth his hands 
toward heaven, which fabled place astronomers of the present day are 
unable to espy with their telescopes of immense magnifying powers, by 
use of which they discover planets in regular motion billions of miles 
from the earth, king solomon directs invisible eyes to be open night 
and day, and directs the owner of such eyes what course of conduct to 
pursue toward his people ; and puts great stress on the action of men 
spreading forth their hands toward the house he built, and tells the lord 



l62 REVIEW OF 

it knoweth something, and king solonmon blessed the people with a 
loud voice, the composer appears to have imagined her subjects could 
live on wind, words, and prayers, better than they could on mutton, beef, 
and venison, or otherwise she had better have bestowed the millions of 
sheep, oxen, &c., upon them that she bestowed on her hero, king Solo- 
mon, to burn ; as burnt sacrifices are again and again offered to her 
lord in numerous chapters of her work, and in this fable her imagina- 
tion hath led her to state that a general feast was given by king Solo- 
mon for fourteen days, before the lord god ; thus showing she felt con- 
scious for a moment people needed being well fed if they had so much 
of their support extorted from them as she had at other moments im- 
agined. 

CHAPTER IX. 

King Solomon is told by the lord that it had hallowed the house it 
had built, but no such honor is shown by any such august personage 
in the present age to builders of stately edifices, even when they have 
a carved entablature publicly marked on the house of god ; but in this 
instance, the lord says every one that passeth the house king solomon 
had built for him should be astonished, and should hiss, and say, why 
hath the lord done this to his house ^ at the end of twenty years sol- 
omon had built one house for himself and one for the lord ; and king 
hiram had furnished cedar and gold, and sent king solomon one hundred 
and twenty talents of gold ; and king pharaoh had burnt gezer, and 
gave it to his daughter, Solomon's wife, surely the queen composer 
had indulged herself too freely with wine while writing this fable ; for, 
in addition to the blunders already stated, she also states that the officers 
over Solomon's work were only five hundred and fifty, when in the fifth 
chapter she stated three thousand and three hundred oflScers ruled the 
workmen, all the fables through the work cannot reasonably be ac- 
counted anything better by an unprejudiced reader than a compilation of 
blundering fiction, king solomon made a navy of ships, and king hiram 
sent his servants that had knowledge of the sea with king Solomon's 
servants ; and the}'- brought four hundred and twenty talents of gold to 
king solomon. Thus the queen composer doth show she did know of 
the sea being traversed by navies ; but she gave no instruction how the 
trackless ocean could be navigated in the work she left, although pre- 
tending, in the beginning of it, that a beginning to the sea and earth w^ere 
known, and that they hadjust into a beginning of existence flown. 



I. KINGS. 153 

CHAPTER X. 

King Solomon is visited by the queen of sheba with a great train of 
camels, laden with spices, gold, and precious stones, and when the 
queen had seen the house he had built, and the meat of his table, and 
the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their 
apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to 
the house of the lord, there was no more spirit in her ; and she said to 
king Solomon, blessed be the lord thy god which delighted in thee, to set 
thee on thy throne, and the queen gave the king an hundred and 
twenty talents of gold, and great store of spices and precious stones, 
and the king gave the queen all her desire, six hundred and sixtj^-six 
talents of gold came to king solomon in one year, surely no one else 
could have had a grain, all the hitherto profuse supplies it is made to 
appear the king received, beside that he had of merchantmen and the 
traffickers in spices, and of all the kings of arabia and governors of the 
country, king solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold, with 
six hundred shekels to each, and three hundred shields of three pounds 
to each, the king also made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid that 
with gold, twenty-six lions were made as appendages and ornaments, 
all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of 
the house of the forest were of gold ; silver was accounted as nothing 
in the days of solomon, he made it to be as stones, once in three years 
king Solomon's navy brought gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks, and 
all the earth sought solomon. This fable shows the composer knew of 
long voyages being performed, and that travelling to and from distant 
parts of land also were performed throughout the earth. 

CHAPTER XL 

King solomon loved many strange women, beside his wives, he 
clave unto them in love ; he had seven hundred wives princesses, and 
three hundred concubines ; on account of this wild imagination, it is 
probable queen elizabeth never formed an alliance with any blood royal ; 
she also states king solomon went after the goddess of the zidonians and 
milcom of the ammonites. 

CHAPTER Xn. 

King rehoboam is the hero of this and the next chapter : he consults 
with old men that stood before king solomon his father, whose counsel 
he did not follow, but took that of young men who had grown up with 

11 



154 REVIEW OF 

him, who persuade him to tell his people, my little finger shall be 
thicker than my father's loins ; and I will add to the yoke my father 
put on you ; he chastised you with whips ; but I will chastise you with 
scorpions, thus queen elizabeth in this fable shows the same proof of 
a mind filled with desires to have people treated as abject slaves to 
ruling monarchs, acting with unrelenting cruelty. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

King Jeroboam stood by the altar and cried, o altar, altar ! and it 
came to pass, when king jeroboam heard the saying of the man of god, 
who had cried against the altar, he said, lay hold on him ! and the hand 
he put forth dried up so that he could not pull it in again ; and the 
altar was rent and the ashes poured out. a similar story to the one of 
the hand of moses instantly changing from sound condition to white 
leprosy, and back to soundness ; both stories manifestly showing the 
composer of them knew more about tricks of legerdemain and theat- 
rical performances than she did of any invisible spirit or region, or of 
any such impossibilities occurring. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

King jeroboam prays his wife to rise and travel in disguise to prophet 
abijah, who told him I should be king, and take ten loaves, cracknels, 
and a cruise of honey to him ; but the aged prophet could not see her, 
and Jeroboam's wife returned. 

CHAPTER XV. 

King nebat reigns three years, and his mother's name is recorded ; 
king asa his son reigns forty years ; his mother's name is also recorded, 
this fabled king removed his mother from being queen ! another king 
basha is treated of; also king hezion. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

King elah is conspired against by the captain of half his chariots, 
while he was drinking himself drunk ; in his stewards house, king omri 
reigns twelve years, king ahab his son reigns twenty-two years ; thus 
the queen composer strives to make her subjects believe hereditary 
monarchy prevailed in many parts, through periods unknown (beyond 
chronology,) and incredible numbers had been supported in extrav- 
agance. 



I. KINGS. 155 

CHAPTEPu XVII. 

Contains the fable of ravens bringing elijah bread, and of a widow 

sustaining him afterwards, he prays to the widow to bring him bread ; 

she tells him she hath not a cake, but hath an handful of meal in a barrel, 

and a little oil in a cruise ; elijah tells her to make a cake, for the lord 

god had said the meal should not waste, nor the oil fail, until it sent 

rain, and he, she, and her house did eat many days, and neither the 

meal or oil failed, and the woman's son fell sick, so there was no breath 

in him ; and elijah took the son out of her bosom, laid him on a bed, and 

cried, o lord, my god ! hast thou also brought evil on the widow with 

whom I sojourn, by slaying her son ! and stretched himself on the 

child three times, and he revived, then he told the mother, see, thy 

son liveth ! she tells elijah that by this she knows he is a man of god. 

a lame attempt to prove omnipotence. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

King ahab is visited by the prophet elijah, according to the word of the 
lord, and obadiah asks elijah if he was his lord ? elijah answered, I 
am ! go tell thy lord elijah is here ! and here it is seen that the com- 
posing queen was distracted in mind, while she did in her imagination 
find lords so plenty, she further treats of the spirit of the lord, and 
what men told the lord, and of an hundred of the lord's prophets being 
hid in a cave, which does not correspond with the assumption of know- 
ing such an invisible did all power possess, the queen represents her 
fabled prophet elijah as having the boldness to declare he was the only 
prophet of the lord, and condemning four hundred and fifty other proph- 
ets as base men, and requiring them to give him and his associates two 
bullocks, and to let the god that answereth by fire be god. elijah mocks 
the other party, and told them to cry aloud, for he is a god, and is tak- 
ing, or pursuing a journey, and must be waked, surely the composer 
of this fable must have written it under the inspiration of strong drink, 
so to imagine or think, as no being, either visible or invisible, while 
walking or talking, need to be waked, the composer states fire from 
the lord consumed the burnt sacrifice, the wood, stones and dust, and 
licked up water ; and elijah slew four hundred and fifty prophets, 
king ahab rides in his chariot, and the hand of the lord was on elijaih, 
and he ran before ahab with his loins girded. 

CHAPTER XIX. 
An angel touches ahab while he slept under a juniper-tree and told 



156 REVIEW OF 

him to arise and eat, and he saw a cake baken on coals, and a cniise of 
water at his head, and he eat and drank, repetition is made of the 
same occurrence transpiring again, with the addition that the man went 
forty days and nights in the strength of this repast, and the composer 
of this fable shows in the latter part of the work she left, under the 
title of the new testament, that her mind was occupied with the same 
kind of imaginings as in that part of her work she states jesus fasted 
forty days and nights, and then was hungry, she also makes a similar 
story respecting the fabled murderer and servant of the lord, moses, 
that he fasted forty days and nights, and gives an inconsistent descrip- 
tion of this starved man, by stating that his face shone so much that 
people were afraid of him, and he was ashamed, and wore a veil to hide 
his face ; and in this chapter she states elijah wrapped his face in his 
mantle, and attributes great skill and dexterity to him as a ploughman, 
ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, and while performing this in- 
credible feat casts his mantle on another man ploughing with but 
one yoke of oxen, who left them and run after elijah, requesting him 
to let him kiss his father and mother, he returns, slays a yoke of 
oxen, and boiled their flesh, and then he ministered unto elijah. 

CHAPTER XX. 

Kings continue plenty in the imagination of the composer ; she treats 
of thirty-two living in company with king ben-hadad, who sends mes- 
sengers to another king to tell him his silver, gold, wives, and the good- 
liest of his children are his ! and this king answered, my lord ! oh king, 
i am thine, and all that i have ; thirty-two young men princes are treat- 
ed of, and the thirty-two kings getting drunk in pavilions ; this state- 
ment indicates that the queen composer knew from experience that 
monarchs and their sons were generally intemperate ; she states a man 
of god told the king the lord is god of the hills, but not of the valleys, 
which story corresponds with the one in the books of moses, wherein 
it is stated god drove the inhabitants from a mountain, but could not 
drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had iron chariots ! 
she states a wall fell on twenty thousand men ; and that the people of 
the lord slew one hundred thousand men one day, and those who fled 
the wall killed them dead, and a prophet's son told a man to strike him, 
and because he did not obey, the young prophet prophecied a lion should 
him slay ; and the prophet disguised himself with ashes on his face j 
others decorated themselves with sackcloth on their loins and ropes on 



II. KINGS. 157 

their heads, and in this ludicrous trim visited the king, who fled into 
an inner chamber within the city, the composing queen knew, of 
course, that such concealment was a safe plan for any affrighted man. 

CHAPTER XXL; 

King ahab tells an owner of a vineyard to give it to him ! the man 
objects ; the king is displeased, laid down on his bed, and would not eat 
bread ; his wife asks him if he does not govern his kingdom ! tells him 
to arise and be merry ! and she would give him the vineyard ; so his 
queen wrote letters in the king's name, and sealed them with his seal ; 
and sent them to the elders and nobles dwelling with the owner of the 
vineyard, and proclaimed a fast in the letters ; with directions to set the 
owner of the vineyard high among the people, and set two wicked men 
to say he blasphemed god, and to stone him to death, then the queen 
told the king, and he arose to go down to the vineyard, this fable 
adds to the proofs given by queen elizabeth in the work she left, of her 
inclination of derogating the female character ; to wit : lott's two daugh- 
ters, the fabled fair sarah, alias sarai, Joseph's mistress, &c. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

King jehosaphat asked the king of Israel if he will go to battle with 
him ; one king tells the other king to inquire of the lord ; and one king 
gathered about four hundred prophets, and asked them if he should go 
to battle, they say go, and the lord shall deliver gilead into the hand of 
the king, here it is again plain to be seen that the composing queen 
strove to make her subjects believe fabled ancient kings had greater 
power than herself, and that an invisible lord was with them, and aid- 
ed them in cruelty and injustice, and prophets could command the ser- 
vices of such a spirit. 

II. KINGS : CHAPTER I. 

King ahaziah is told by the prophet elijah, for as much as he had sent 
messengers to inquire of baal-zebub the god of ekron, is it not because 
there is no god in Israel to inqnire of his word .'* therefore thou shalt 
die on the bed on which you lie. elijah is treated of as being an hairy 
man, girdled with a leather girdle. 

CHAPTER II. 

This contains the fable of elijah 's heavenward journey in a chariot of 
fire, with horses of the same element, elisha being servant, smote the 



158 REVIEW OF 

waters with his master's cloak, and divided them, that the two went over 
on dry ground ; this part of the fable corresponds with the one of the 
red sea being divided, and people passing through its midst on dry- 
ground ; and that the composer of them, of course, had similar imagin- 
ings in the periods when she wrote them, the lords prophet elijah 
curses little children in the name of the lord, and two bears tear forty- 
two of the little innocents. 

CHAPTER III. 

King jehoram reigns twelve years, another king renders to this king 
an 100,000 lambs and an 100,000 rams, with the wool, one king said 
the lord had called three other kings together, to deliver them into the 
hand of moab ! another king asked, was there no prophet of the lord 
that we may inquire of the lord by him ; this is the same style of com- 
position the composer made use of in her books of moses, pretending in 
numerous instances that moses acted as agent to an invisible lord, con- 
veying its words, messages, and commands to the people in great variety, 
the fabled. elisha tells people, thus saith the lord, ye shall smite every 
choice city, fell every good tree, stop all wells, and mar good land with 
stones. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Kings are not treated of in this chapter, the composer having in her 
imagination thus far through the books of kings invented such an in- 
credible number of names, titles, and fables of such, her imaginings on * 
that score of course must have been exhausted, therefore, it would be 
unreasonable to expect many more kingly fables from her for a while, 
for she would be subjected to the exposure of forming silly repetitions, 
if she continued without a new supply of imaginings, so she begins a 
fable of a woman crying to elisha, that her husband was dead, and a 
creditor is come to take her sons as bondsmen ; and she had nothing in 
her house save a pot of oil. he directs her to borrow empty vessels of 
all her neighbors, and the oil of one pot filled all the vessels they got 
from neighbors, elisha commands her to sell the oil, pay the debt, and 
she and the children live on the rest, the fabled elisha is also constrain- 
ed by a great woman day by day, as he passed, to eat bread ; and the 
great woman requested her husband to make a little chamber for the 
man of god, and he turned in and sent his servant to call the great 
woman ; the man of god is told her husband is old, and she hath no child, 
the man of god tells the great woman she should embrace a son, and 



II. KINGS. 159 

she bare a son according to the time elisha had said ; this fable corre- 
sponds with the one in genesis, where it is stated sarah, alias sarai, had 
an old husband, but no child ; and that a man of god went into the tent 
where she was, and prophecied to her during that interview that she 
should have a son ; so she had one about the exact set time, both fables 
showing the composing queen had the same imaginings each time she 
wrote the two fables ; and she being childless, would naturally cause 
her to reflect on that unnatural condition. 

CHAPTER V. 

A little maid was taken captive, and she waited on the wife of a le- 
per ; the little girl prophecies, if her master was with a certain prophet, 
he would be cured ; so off he starts, with ten talents of silver, and six 
thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment to the house of 
elisha the prophet ; who tells the leper to wash iii a river seven times 
and he should be clean ; the leper was wroth and went away, the proph- 
et tells his servant, it is a time to receive money, garments, olive- 
yards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, men servants, and maid servants, this 
is the same enumeration of perquisites that are stated in 15th, and also 
in 20th chapter of genesis, as being awarded to the fabled hypocritical 
deceiving prophet abraham, alias abram, being rewarded with by two 
kings on two occurrences of deception in leig being with his fair wife, they 
representing themselves to each king as brother and sister, and the 
kings being enamoured with this married woman on account of her fair 
complexion, and after each had detained her awhile, allowing her to de- 
part and reward her husband profusely, with the same enumerated ar- 
ticles, and much gold and silver. 

CHAPTER VI. 

An axe fell into the water, a stick is thrown in, and the iron did 
float ; a mountain, it is stated, was full of horses and chariots of fire 
round about elisha, who prayed to the lord to smite people with blind- 
ness, and it did so ; a j^reat famine is treated of, so that the head of an 
ass sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of 
doves dung for five pieces of silver, and a child was eaten, these fables 
manifestly show they have been composed by a mind devoid of com- 
posure ; such as the unrelenting cruel queen elizabeth of england, while 
supported extravagantly in idleness. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

Fine fiour becomes suddenly plenty and cheap, and the road to jor- 



160 REVIEW OF 

dan was full of wheels and vessels, and a lord that spoke to the man of 
god about the plenty, and said if the lord would niake windows in heav- 
en, it might be so. in this instance, the composer makes it to appear 
as deserving of death to make the insinuation, and states that the lord 
who made it was trodden to death, showing she had lost recollection of 
her statement in seventh of genesis that the windows of heaven were 
opened. 

CHAPTER Vni. 

Elisha speaks to the woman whose son he had restored to life, and 
tells her the lord had called for a famine, and says it shall come seven 
years, a sick king tells a man to take a present to the -man of god, and 
inquire of the lord if i shall recover ! so the king's servant took forty 
camel loads of every good thing, and made the inquiry, and answer was 
given, that he will die, and also that he will recover, the composing 
queen throughout the chapter shows her mind was much distracted 
with a great medley of imaginings ; one king is told that he will burn 
strong-holds, and slay young men, and dash children, and rip up women 
that are with child, and a man is told by elisha of old that the lord 
hath showed him he should be king ! and the composing queen again 
treats of numerous kings and their reigns, and inserts the words lord 
and god many times, without assuming to know that either of such 
imaginary invisibles said a word. 

CHAPTER IX. 

One man commands another to pour oil on another man's head ! he 
is then told the lord had anointed him king, and that he should smite 
the house of his master; then the oily-headed man asks the servants of 
his lord why the mad fellow came ; for he said the lord had anointed 
me king, and every man hastened to put his garment under him, on 
the top of the stairs, which fable shows that a composer with costly 
rich clothes had got sober enough to consider that oil poured on a king's 
or queen's head, greasing their royal garments, w^ould make people in 
more humble stations afraid of such a mad oil pouring fellow ! jet she 
represents the affrighted people, who hid their clothes, blew trumpets, 
saying jehu is king ! so jehu rode in a chariot, and a watchman stood 
on a tower, another king, and yet another, went out in chariots, and 
several others are treated of ; also eunuchs, and a lewd woman, who 
was thrown down, and nothing but her skull, feet, and palms of her 



II. KINGS. 161 

hands were found, another similar story to this cruel one is inserted in 
this said-to-be holy bible, adding to the numerous proofs that the com- 
poser was a person of cruel, unrelenting imagination and disposition, 

CHAPTER X. 

Kings and their sons yet abound in great numbers according to the 
composer's imaginings, which she continues cruelly, stating seventy 
king's sons heads were cut off, and king jehu slew all that remained of 
the house of another king ; the great men, priests, and kin-folks, forty- 
two more are slain by a pit ; all were destroyed according to the saying 
of the lord, this fable, with numerous others, represents a supposed 
invisible lord, far more capricious and cruel than any visible lord com- 
posed of flesh, blood, bones and sinews, who are susceptible of feelings, 
the queen composer bestows the power on her fabled king jehu of put- 
ting to death any of his eighty guards who should let any man escape ; 
and also bestows the honor on this king of the lord telling him, after the 
slaughters he had made of his fellow-beings, that, as he had executed 
them well, his children of the fourth generation should sit on the 
throne of Israel, here it can be seen that a composing queen, reigning 
•under laws authorizing hereditary monarchy, strives to make impression 
on the minds of her subjects that an invisible lord aided and encour- 
aged hereditary monarchs in oppression and cruelty, and when horrid 
atrocities were perpetrated by them it would reward them and their 
posterity, and also greatly aid in establishing and continuing hereditary 
monarchy, which doctrine it is not probable would ever have been prop- 
agated had hereditary monarchies never been imposed on mankind. 

CHAPTER XL 

King joram's daughter stole another king's son from among the sev- 
enty kings sons that were slairi by the command of another king, and 
hid him and his nurse, every man is commanded to compass the king 
with weapon iii hand, and slay all that cometh within range ; and the 
captains did as the priests commanded ; and the priests gave the king 
the spears and shields that were in the house of the lord ; and the 
crown was put on the head of the king's son. and the king stood by a 
pillar, and the princes and trumpeters by the king ; and all the people 
blew with trumpets and rejoiced ! thus hath a queen endeavored to 
impose on her subjects wild fables of imaginary royalty and servile 
loyalty. 



162 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XII 

King jehoash reigns at seven years of age. first he commands that all 
money be brought into the house of the lord, and let the priests take it 
to repair breaches ; but on the twenty-third year the priests had not re- 
paired the breaches, the trespass and sin money was not brought into 
the house of the lord, it was the priests ! here is again shown plain 
the queen composer's mind was much inclined in favor of hereditary 
monarchs and their priests, and also to hold people in surveillance by 
deception. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

King jehu reigns again, and" the anger of the lord is also stated to 
have again kindled against its people, the corpse of a man was let 
down into elisha's sepulchre ; it touched elisha's bones, then he re- 
vived and stood on his feet, surely no resurrection could be more 
complete. 

CHAPTER XIV. : 

• King amaziah reigns ; he slays "ten thousand in the vallej' of salt, 
another king took him and all his treasures, also all the gold and silver 
from the house of the lord, the queen having attributed this mode of 
conduct to manv of her fabled kino;s, indicates that she knew from ex- 
perience the intrigues of her own reign, and those of her father, king 
henry the eighth, that ruling monarchs were prone to help themselves to 
as much of the precious metals as they could, and she shows it was her 
desire monarchs should have as much as they chose. 

CHAPTER XV. 

King azariah reigns at sixteen j-ears of age ; he did that which was 
right in the sight of the lord ; saw that the high places were not re- 
moved, and the lord smote the king, so he was a leper, the statements 
respecting lepers are generally attributed to high functionaries, showing 
that the queen knew that trouble befell those who lived too well and 
worked too little, repetition is made that the lord promised this fabled 
king that his sons should sit on the throne of israel to the fourth gen 
eration. king gadi, king pul, king menahem, king pekahiah, and an in- 
credible host of other odd fellows, also reign, according to the imagin- 



II. KiNas. 163 

ation of the composing queen, or the desire she shows of making her 
subjects believe so. she also generally pictures such fabled heroes as 
being more arbitrary and cruel than herself. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The queen states king ahaz did that which was right in the sight 
of the lord, and made his sons pass through fire, and sacrificed burnt 
incense on the hills and under every green tree, surely the queen of 
the fable ought to have been able to have held the three hundred foxes 
with the one hundred and fifty firebrands represented to have been 
between their tails (treated of in judges) in requisition, to have aided 
this inexperienced king of sixteen in such a vast undertaking, and lo- 
comotives of the swiftest class to convey the cavalcade in order to 
have so brilliant an illumination, but instead of allowing this youth- 
ful king any such thing, or any aid from invisible sources, pictures him 
as robbing the house of the lord of all its treasure, and commanding a 
priest to burn all the meat and drink offerings of the people, and says 
the brazen altar shall be for himself, and took down the sea from the 
brazen oxen, the fabled brazen sea is more particularly portrayed in 
2d of chronicles, chap. 4, and also in 1st of kings, chap. 7, v. 23, 24, 
25,26 ; and an addition to this brazen story is also inserted in 6 th chap, 
of same book of solomon, making an incredible large brass scaffold 
standing on it with his hands spread forth, kneeling on his knees, again 
the queen states this king spread forth his hand, and in her repetition 
adds toward heaven, if there ever were such accommodations so im- 
posing to weak minds manufactured, why not continue them in use on 
all occasions of ordinations to the present day. 

CHAPTER XYIT. 

King ahaz reigns, this fabled king also takes all the silver and gold 
from the house of the lord, and the treasures of another king, and burnt 
incense under ever}' green tree, and burnt meat offerings, and sprinkled 
the blood of his offerings on the altar, and brought the brazen altar 
from between the altar and the house of the lord, and cut off borders 
of the bases, and took the sea of the brazen oxen, surely the com- 
poser of this fable was either brazen or forgetful, or she would not have 
striven to confuse the minds of her subjects with a repetition of this 
same nonsense, after inserting it in her fables under the title of the 
book of moses, nor with the immense long list of fabled kings and their 



164 REVIEW OF 

deeds of cruelty, warfare, and other acts continued thickly through 
forty-seven chapters, answering to tire the reader's patience, and caus- 
ing most to abandon the effort, and to yield acquiescence of belief that 
the inconsistent compound sprung from an invisible source, and must 
be sacred, holy and true, when they had not read it through. 

1-1 

CHAPTER XVIIl. 

King hezekiah reigns ; his mother's name is recorded, the lord 
prospered him ; he smote a large number of his fellow-beings, he 
clave to the lord, who was with him wherever he went, yet he tells 
another king he will bear all that he puts on him, and gave this king 
all the treasures of his house, and all the silver from the house of the 
lord, and cut off the the gold from the doors, many more fabled kings 
are treated of. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

King of hamath, king of arpad, king of hena, king of sepharvaim, 
and a long list of other fabled kings are treated of, and king hezekiah 
tells the lord he dwells between the cherubims ; ' and any idle fellow, 
when he felt himself mellow, might • bestow yet greater homage on 
what he did not know, or if he supposed so. 

CHAPTER XX. 

King hezekiah was told the lord Said he should die. ' he turns his 
face to the wall and prays ; then the lord commands his messenger to 
tell the king, the captain of his people, that fifteen years shall be added 
to his life, and it would defend his city ; and isaiah cried to the lord, 
and it brought the shadow of the dial ten degrees backward from where 
it had gone down, this is on a par with the composer's fable of the 
sun and moon standing still at the command of the fabled hero Joshua, 
who, it is stated in the same said-to-be holy book, was commanded by 
the lord to make sharp knives, and cut a piece off from his fellow- 
heings. this chapter contains one of the few useful lessons that are em- 
hodied in the mass of absurdities queen elizabeth left, which may serve 
to admonish proud, vain people, possessing wealth against boasting or 
making unnecessary exposure of their valuable realities, the fabled 
hezekiah shows to strangers all the house of his precious things, gold, 
silver, &c., and they were all stolen from him. 



II. KINGS. . 165 

CHAPTER XXL 

King manasseh reigns at twelve years of age. his mother's name is 
recorded, he built altars, he reared up altars, and made his sons pass 
through fire, and seduced people to do more evil, and the lord said it 
was bringing such evil on judah and Jerusalem, that the ears of those 
who hear it shall tingle, this same nonsense the composer hath made 
tingling statement of previously, king amon also reigns : his mother's 
name is recorded, his servants slew him in his house, a similar story 
to this hath been previously inserted, but the composer does not fabri- 
cate any reason why the servants became murderous, but certainly acts 
prudent not to bestow better fare or wages on them from new masters. 

CHAPTER XXH. 

King josiah reigns at the age of eight years : his mothers name is re- 
corded ; also a similar fable to one previously inserted in the work, of 
precious metal being put into the hands of door-keepers for the work- 
men and overseers of the work of the house of the lord ; and a priest 
tells a scribe he had found the book of the law in the house of the lord, 
and when the king heard the words of the book, he rent his clothes ! 
and the king commanded the priest to inquire of the lord in the words 
of the book ! for great is the wrath of the lord that is kindled against us . 
for the lord said he would bring evil on the inhabitants, and on this place, 
even all the words of the book, so a number of odd-named fellows, 
and a wife of one man, keeper of the wardrobe, who dwelt in the college, 
all communed with a prophetess, who told the above dismal threat of 
the lord according to the fable. 

CHAPTER XXni. 

♦ 
King josiah reads into the ears of his people" all the words of the 

fabled book, and he defiled the places where priests had burned incense, 
took away the horses that had been given to the sun, and burned the 
chariots of the sun. this is on a par with the statement that the sun 
stood still at the command of Joshua, this fabled king also beats down, 
and breaks altars made by other such kings for the court of the house 
of the lord ; and cast the dust of them into a brook, this part of the 
fable shows the composer had a relic left in recollection of her fable of 
moses and aaron obtaining people's gold jewels, making a calf for them 
to worship out of them, and then breaking the calf up fine ; and moses 



166 REVIEW OF 

telling the people he had thrown its dust on the face of the waters, 
many more kings are treated of, priests also. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

King nebuchadnezzar takes another fabled king and his treasure, and 
all the treasures of the house of the lord ; and carried away all Jerusa- 
lem, the princes, the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand, and all 
the craftsmen and smiths, none remained save the poorest sort of peo- 
ple ; and he carried away the king's mother, wives, and officers, and all 
the men of might, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, 
all that were strong and apt for war. surely this fable is proof that the 
composer wrote it, as most others also show, while not in a fit state to 
compose with reason j for her statement that all Jerusalem was taken, 
would have rather more sober reflection had it not been entangled with 
the after statements of the various classes, the composer hath evidently 
been a considerable observer of affairs in high life, and knew from ex- 
perience that monarchs did not wish the society of the poorer sort of 
people, and that they required the services of craftsmen and officers. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

King Zedekiah's eyes are put out, and the young princes are slain 
he is bound with fetters of brass, and a kings servant burns another kings 
house, and the lords house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every 
great man's house ; and the wonderful story is recorded, that they were 
burnt with fire, and the people were carried away, but the captain of 
the guard left the poor of the land ; and poor enough indeed must they 
have been, being without shelter from the variations of tem])erature, by 
conflicting elements of different natures, but it is a consolation to dis- 
cern and be convinced that the enormous extent of cruelties stated to 
have transpired under fabled lords and kings are but fiction, and that no 
beings or invisible spirits can be found possessing such ferocious natures 
as pictured forth in the work queen elizabeth left and king james pub- 
lished. 

I. CHRONICLES : CHAPTER I. 

Contains forty-two verses that are repetitions of fabled men having 
sons treated of in the composer's usual rude style, and versed about 
former fabled kings, and of their sons reigning when they were dead ; 
as the composer, although a female, did when her father was dead, she 



I. CHRONICLES. 167 

finishes the chapter with a list of fabled dukes filling four verses ; of 

course she knew earthly lords and dukes well, as they attended her 

courts. 
But after forming forty-seven verses in her books of kings in peculiar 

confusing and inconsistent style, writes sixty-five verses in her chroni- 
cles, which are principally repetitions of statements made in the books 
of kings ; they refer to the chronicles, and the chronicles refer back to 
the books of kings ; the fabrication of the four forming a mass of the 
grossest absurdities I have met with through my research of more than 
half a century ; and cannot see that they answer any other purpose than 
to deter all persons from reading them ; as many other parts of the said- 
to-be sacred scripture do also, and most of its advocates, on that ac. 
count, do not know the contents of the confusing mass they advocate as 
being the word of a supposed invisible spirit, and strenuously contend 
that an almighty invisible power controls the destiny of man, through 
erroneous impressions formed in their minds in early life, and through 
fear of being burnt, millions of years longer than iron could retain its 
form in fire, if they disbelieved, if such innumerable host of kings had 
existed in the lifetime of the writer of those fables respecting them, and 
had been maintained in the magnificent style she hath portrayed many 
of them to have been kept in by the toils of their subjects, her fabled 
invisible spirit need to have been industrious enough, to have made all 
the commoners coats of skin, and clothed them with those strong, durable 
garments, as the crazy composer boldly states, god made and clothed hcj. 
first fabled couple, adam and eve, with. 

CHAPTER II. 

Contains fifty-five verses of similar repetitions to the preceding chap- 
ter, in the same rude style about fabled men and their children. 

CHAPTER III. 

Contains twenty-four verses similar composition to second chapter. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Contains forty-three verses, the same kind as chapters one and two. 

CHAPTER V. 

Twenty-six verses composed of fabled men and warriors to the num- 
ber of 44,760 in one instance, and of 302,000 animals being taken, and 



168 REVIEW OF 

of 100,000 men being taken, which is far more than twice the number 
of warriors as previously stated ; and many, it is stated, fell down slain 
because the war was of god, who stirred up the spirit of king pul. here 
the composer shows, as she hath done by many other statements, that 
disordered imagination had caused her to make statements extremely 
contradictory about an invisible spirit that she strove to make her sub- 
jects believe possessed such incompatible qualities. 

CHAPTER VI. j 

Contains eighty-one verses rude nonsense about priests, and other men 
and their children, as the composer commenced in genesis six ; the suc- 
ceeding sixty-seven verses are also about men and their sons. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Forty verses also about fabled men and their sons ; 26,000 were apt 
to war and battle, thus hath a cruel, unrelenting monarch, whose father 
had set a bad example, recorded to the world, in numerous parts of the 
w^ork she left, that her mind delighted in the contemplation of acts of 
oppression and warfare. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Begins in the composer's usual rude style, containing forty verses of 
fabled odd-named men and their sons ; and one ulam she honors more 
than her fable prophet sam, by allowing him one hundred and fifty sons. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Forty-four verses partly in rude statements of men and their sons, 
and of 1760 odd fellows being priests ; very able men for the service 
of the house of god, and of choice being made from other mens sons of 
two hundred and twelve as porters to gates, when david and samuel did 
ordain the gates. 

CHAPTER X. 

Contains a repetition of the former fabled tale, king saul, and three 
sons being slain by the lord. 

CHAPTER XL 

Contains repetition of king david dwelling in a castle, wherefore it 
was called the city of duvid ; and that a chief of his captains slew three 



I. CHRONICLES. 169 

hundred with his spear at one time, and of david longing for water and 
refusing to drink any. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Contains repetition of fabled hurlers of stone, who could use both 
right and left hand ; and of 120,000 men of war coming with perfect 
heart, to make david king ; and that all israel were of one heart to 
make david kino-. 

CHAPTER Xm. 

Hath a repetition of the fabled ark of god being carried on a new car 
drawn by oxen that were transmogrified from cows, lawing as they 
went, because their calves were kept from them, according to the com- 
poser's distracted imagination ; while writing the previous fable of the 
ark, cows, and their song as they went along, the oxen stumbled by the 
threshing-floor, and the careful driver puts his hand to the ark to save 
it from falling, and the anger of the lord was kindled,''and he slew the 
faithful man. he died before god, and the lord blessed the house where- 
in the ark was put. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Repetition of king david perceiving the lord had confirmed him king, 
and of his taking more wives, and having more children, which is stated 
in the composer's usual style of levity, david inquires of god if he 
shall go against a certain tribe, god says go, and I will deliver them into 
thine hand, david the king inquires of the same invisible about the 
same thing ; god again tells the king to go, and attack them over against 
the mulberry-trees, as it had done before. 

CHAPTER XV. 

King david prepares a place for the ark of god, and tells people the 
lord hath chosen a certain set of men to carry the ark of god, and to 
minister unto him forever, so the chosen priests sanctified themselves 
to bring up the ark of the lord god. thus it can be seen that the com- 
posing queen still imagined she could contrive to fill the minds of her 
subjects with awe, by frequent repetition of words and titles she had 
attributed frightful power to. a long repeated list of droll-sounding 
names are given of fabled singers, musicians, trumpet-blowers and 
priests, in connection with this repeated fable of the imaginary ark of 

12 



170 REVIEW OF 

god, trimmed and finished with the services of the master of song I 
king david playing and dancing ; and one of king david's wives looking 
out of a window, saw him and despised him in her heart, this laugh- 
able fable having been previously inserted in the work, it appears as 
though the composer had a scribe to assist her, and he had formed the 
chronicles from what she had written, as a large portion of them are rep- 
etitions, and are of that inconsistent nature, that scarcely any sober 
person would have recorded a second time. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Contains also repetitions respecting the fabled ark, and of the king ap- 
pointing priests to pray before the lord. 

CHAPTER XVn. 

Repetition is made that god tells the king he shall not build it an 
house to dwell in, and that the king tells a prophet god is with him. 
and god tells the king his son shall build him an house, and it will estab- 
lish his throne forever, and the king seated himself before the lord, 
and requires it to do as it had said. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Kepetition is made of the fable of king david taking one thousand 
chariots, and seven thousand footmen from another king, and houghing 
all the horses, save for one hundred chariots, and of the lord preserving 
david whithersoever he went, and of his taking gold shields and much 
brass that the fabled solomon made a sea and pillars of, and of the king 
dedicating silver and gold to the lord. 

CHAPTER XIX;- 

Repetition is made of king david's servants being shaved, and their 
garments cut off hard by their buttocks, with the difference of the first 
fable of only one side of their beards being shaved off. both statements 
ao-reethe men were greatly ashamed, and of the shavers and clippers 
being so much afraid of the king that they sent one thousand talents of 
silver to hire chariots and horsemen of two neighboring 'nations, and 
king david sends all the host of mighty men and all Israel, and slew 
seventy thousand which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, 



I. CHRONICLES. . 171 

and the rest became king david's servants, all this and much more,, 
hath been inserted before in the work queen elizabeth left. 

CPIAPTER XX. 

Repetition is made of king david taking a crown from another king's 
head, which was heavy with gold and precious stones, and of its being 
put on king david's head, and of this fabled man after god's own heart 
taking much spoil from a city, and cutting up the people that were in it 
with saws, iron harrows, and axes, and that he dealt so with the people 
of other cities, a silly tale of a giant having twelve toes and twelve 
fingers is also repeated in this said-to-be holy chapter. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

A king is provoking satan ! people of Israel are represented to be a 
thousand thousand, and an|hundred thousand men that drew sword, 
and god smote Israel, and offers david a choice of three years famine ; or 
three months to be destroyed before his foes, or three days pestilence 
in the land, so the lord sent pestilence, and seventy thousand 7nenfe]l ; 
and as an angel was destroying, god repented, the king saw the angel 
with drawn sword in hand stretched over Jerusalem, the angel com- 
mands that the king set up an altar to the lord in a threshing-floor. 
eight verses are filled with similar composition about the fabled altar 
and threshing-floor, the angel puts its sword in the sheath, and god 
answers the king in the threshing-floor, and the king was afraid of the 



angel's sword. 



CHAPTER XXn. 



Repetitions are made by king david about building god an house, 
he tells the people god said his son should build him one, and prepared 
iron and brass in abundance, and says the house must be exceedingly 
magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all countries, and tells his 
son Solomon that god had given him that name before he was born, and 
had said he should build the house, at the same time he forbade thy 
father building the house, and tells solomon he had prepared an hun- 
dred thousand talents of gold, and the same weight of silver, and iron 
and brass included, and without weight, and commanded the princes ta 
help solomon. 



172 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTEE. XXIII. 

David gathers all the princes and priests, when he was old, and made 
Solomon king, the incredible number of workmen and porters pre-' 
yiously mentioned are stated again to have been eight thousand, repeti- 
tions are also made about food being baked or fried in a pan. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Contains thirty-one verses about men being divided by lot. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Two hundred and eighty -eight cunning men were instructed in songs 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Porters are treated of through twelve verses, and eight verses about 
casting lots for gates, and seventeen hundred officers are" treated of. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Princes, captains, and officers are treated of through thirty-four verses. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

David gives solomon patterns for the porch, treasuries, and upper 
©hambers of the house of god ; with gold for lamps, candlesticks, and 
instruments for all manner of service ; also for flesh-hooks, bowls, cups, 
basins, altar of incense, and pattern of the chariot of the cherubims 
that spread out their wings, covering the ark of god . and david tells 
solomon the princes and all the people shall be at his command, this 
fable evidently adds to the proofs previously inserted in the work left 
By queen elizabeth, that her mind had become distracted with grandeur, 
and the contemplation of power and wealth caused her to so profusely 
bestow the same in her imagination on her fabled kings. 

, CHAPTER XXIX. 

Repetition is made of david telling he had prepared much gold for 
the house of the lord, and that he had given over and above all he had 
prepared for the house of god, three thousand talents of gold, and seven 
thousand of refined silver, and for the service of the house of god five 



II. CHRONICLES. 173 

thousand talents of gold, and ten thousand drams of silver, and an 
abundance of brass and iron. 

II. CHRONICLES : CHAPTER I. 

King Solomon offers a thousand burnt offerings on the brazen altar 
before the lord, god talks to solomon. and solomon had fourteen hun- 
dred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and chariot cities, and 
made silver and gold as plenteous as stones, these wild ideas could 
not possibly have entered into the mind of any other person but one 
situated as queen elizabeth was, maintained in idleness and lux- 
ury, without a child to amuse her or engage her attention, and surround- 
ed b}'- pompous extravagance, and the grandeur of her court and its 
appendages, and known to be a wine-bibber. 

CHAPTER II. 

Kepetition is made of the wild fable of king solomon having eighty- 
three thousand six hundred and seventy men engaged about building 
an house. 

CHAPTER III. 

The fabled house and its ceiling was overlaid with gold and garnished 
with precious stones, and the posts, doors, and walls were overlaid with 
gold ; and fifty shekels of gold nails are added to the preceding wild 
tales, seventeen verses are filled with the same style of extravagant 
statements. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The fabled brazen altar and molten sea standing on twelve oxen for 
the priests to wash in, and covers, gold candlesticks, basins, bowls, 
snuffers, &c. &c., are all treated of again ; and the doors of the house 
were also of gold, numerous other extravagances are repeated. 

CHAPTER V. 

King solomon brought into the house of god all the silver and gold, 
and put it among the treasures, and sacrificed sheep and oxen that 
could not be numbered for multitude, here it is again plain to be seen 
that the composing queen still strives to make her subjects believe fabled 
ancient monarchs were more tyrannical than herself; and by the gross al>- 



174 REVIEW OF 

surdities she adds while striving to make her fables confuse and amaze 
the minds of the uninformed, shows that she was not in suitable condition 
to compose with reason, thus far through the work she left, she states 
the priests brought the ark into the holy place, even under the wings 
of the cherubims, and there it is to this day. there was nothing in it 
save the stone tables which the murderer moses put in. these are the 
fabled tables that the composer strove to make her subjects believe god 
carved the ten commandments on with its fingers, the first of which de- 
clares it will punish unborn children to the fourth generation, and that 
it is a jealous god. of course the composer must have been insane ox 
intoxicated, an hundred and twenty priests arrayed in white linen 
stood by the ark sounding trumpets ; and when they lifted up their 
voice with various instruments of music, the house was filled with a cloud, 
so that the priests could not stand to minister, this is a contradiction 
to the statement that the invisible spirit possessed almighty power, that 
the one hundred and twenty trumpet-blowing priests should be so griev- 
ously incommoded. 

CHAPTER VI. 

King Solomon repeats the fable of the lord telling his father he should 
not build it an house, but that he should build it one, and that the lord 
hath performed his word, for i am set on the throne as the lord prom- 
ised, and he spread his hands forth, standing on a brazen scaffold twelve 
feet and a half long, and he kneeled and asks god if it will dwell on 
earth, and requires god to keep its eyes open day and night, hereditarj' 
power appears to be a favorite theme with the queen. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

King Solomon made an end of prayer, fire comes down from heaven 
and consumes the burnt offerings ; and the glory of the lord filled the 
house, so that the priests could not enter, this shows that the composer 
did not suppose there existed an almighty power who wished to be 
adored, king solomon offered twenty-two thousand oxen and one hun- 
dred and twenty thousand sheep as a sacrifice, and the people dedicated 
the house of god. here it is seen that the composing queen differs from 
her general plan of allowing priests such honor, and that she continues 
her wild imagination of allowing her fabled king solomon power to 
destroy all the flocks and herds of the land to appease or please the 
creator of them, according to the first chapter of the work she left ; 



II. CHRONICLES. ^ 175 

and this with many others taken in connection, the fabled brazen 
altar is boldly treated of again, and the fat^ot the peace offerings, and 
he kept a feast seven days, this does not picture forth wisdom for the 
fabled wise king ; yet it is stated the lord appeared to him by night, 
and talked to him about its house, telling solomon it had sanctified the 
house. 

: Chapter viii. 

King solomon makes people pay tribute unto this day. and'the com- 
poser hath been so liberal and clever as to give no date, so the people 
may be taxed forever ; and king solomon, like a royal true gallant 
fellow, brings up king pharaoh's daughter, and offered burnt sacrifices to 
the lord every day, according to the commandment of the fabled servant 
of the lord moses, the murderer, ships and gold are again]|stated to have 
been sent to kins: solomon. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Contains repetition of the grand fabled rare-show, and meeting of the 
queen of sheba and king solomon, and of the queen presenting the king 
with loads of gold and other valuables, and of the king giving the queen 
all her desire ; and the queen composer allows king solomon to have 
had six hundred and sixty talents of gold brought to him in one year ; and 
also that all the kings of arabia and governors of the country brought gold 
and silver to solomon. and he made two hundred targets of beaten gold 
of six hundred shekels to a target, and three hundred gold shields of 
three hundred shekels to each, and a great throne of ivory,"overlaid 
with pure gold, with six steps to the throne, with footstool of gold, 
surely he ousht to have been as well satisfied withlearth for his foot- 
stool as the great invisible that he declared set him on his father's 
throne ; but this throne of his own make is represented as being guard- 
ed by twelve lions on each side of the steps, and lions by the stays • 
and all king Solomon's vessels were of gold, twentieth verse, silver 
was accounted as nothing in those days of solomon. twenty-first verse, 
king Solomon's ships brought silver, gold, ivory, apes, and peacocks every 
three years, and every man brought vessels of silver and of gold, spices, 
horses, mules, and harness, and the king made silver as stones ; and he 
had four thousand stalls for chariots and horses, and chariot cities, and 
twelve thousand horsemen ; thus the composing queen, in her ardor to 
enforce belief on the minds of her subjects that hereditary monarchies 



176 REVIEW OF 



of ancient times existed, and were supported in greater magnificence 
than she and her government, by far outsteps the bounds of probability 
and. records the distraction of her mind. 



CHAPTER X. 

Contains repetition of the fable of a king's son telling his subjects he 
would be more cruel to theni than his father had been ; and that he 
did not hearken to the people, for the cause was of god. 

CHAPTER XL 

A king sets one hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors to fight 
the poor israelites, who have been represented as more helpless than 
lambs, so that they could not find water, and the king the queen attrib- 
utes this great power to was, like herself, a sprig of hereditary roy- 
alty, the queen also allows that this king took a female sprig of royalty 
for his bosom companion ; and that, like her father, he yet took another, 
and that he loved the third one better than all his wives and concu- 
bines ; and he had twenty-eight sons, and sixty daughters ; he desired 
many wives, and thought to make one of his sons king, thus doth 
queen elizabeth thus far, through the work she left, strive to make her 
subjects believe it to be sacred and right that thej^ should for hereditary 
monarchs toil and fight. 

CHAPTER Xn. 

King shishak comes up in the composer's imagination with twelve 
hundred chariots, and sixty thousand horsemen, he tellsi people the 
lord says it hath left them in his hand ; and the queen, as usual, allows 
this king to take away the treasures of the house of the lord, which is 
one of the items of spoil she hath allowed most of her numerous host 
of fabled kings ; plainly showing she believed the plan or scheme of 
most monarchs to be to take all they could get. 

CHAPTER Xni. 

King abijah reigns : his mother's name is recorded, he sets battle in 
array with four hundred thousand chosen valiant men. another fabled 
king does the same with eight hundred thousand chosen valiant men 
also, any sort of fellow that will consecrate himself with a young bul- 
lock and seven rams may be a priest, repetitions are inserted about 
gold candlestick lamps, king david, who hath long since been recorded 



II. CHRONICLES. ^ 177 

as dead, and that his son solomon reigned in his stead, is brought forth 
again to distract the credulous reader's brain, god gave him and his 
sons the kingdom forever by a covenant of salt ; golden calves are treated 
of, showing nothing more than that the composer had plentiful store of 
precious metals, god himself, she states, was captain, and had priests 
sounding with trumpets, to cry alarm ; and god smote alt his chosen 
people israel,and delivered them into the hand of the besiegers, so that 
half a million of god's chosen men were slain, one man married four- 
teen wives, and the composer, in her usual style of levity, describes the 
cause of those wives bearing thirty-eight children, the fabled ark of 
god is treated of again ; and as the new cart that it was conveyed on 
when it had golden mice in it, according to the composer's disordered 
imagination on one of the former removals, was burnt ; and also the 
oxen that stumbled by the threshing-floor, which had been transmogri- 
fied from singing milch cows at the same time, when god slew their care- 
ful driver, who, like an [honest man, strove to save the treasure from 
damage that he was entrusted with, by putting his hand to the ark to 
prevent it faUing. surely no one who wishes to be guided b}^ reason, 
that reads such wild fables that are embodied in the work the wicked 
elizabeth left, can respect them as truths, or as being useful in confusing 
the minds of the unlearned, timid portion of mankind. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

A king had an army of three hundred thousand men, who drew bow 
and bare shield, and two hundred and eighty thousand valiant men. 
another man had an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred 
chariots, and one nation destroyed the other before the lord, and took 
away much spoil, and smote the cattle tents, surely this fable must 
have been composed under the inspiration of strong drink by a person 
acquainted with warriors and kings ; and most of the preceding ones 
indicate the same cause brought them into existence. 

CHAPTER XV. 

One king met another king, and nations were destroyed, for god did 
vex them, this adds to the numerous contradictions previously inserted 
by elizabeth, that god is full of mercy and loving-kindness, the de- 
stroyers offer up to the lord seven hundred oxen and seven thousand 
sheep of the spoil they had brought, and entered into a covenant with 
the lord that those who would not seek it should be put to death. 



178 REVIEW OF 

and they sware with loud voices to the lord, and with cornets, trumpets, 
and shouting, and the lord gave them rest ; and silver and gold was 
brought into the house of the lord. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

A king brought out the silver and gold from the house of the lord, 
and sent it to another king ; many more kings are treated of. one was 
diseased in his feet : he died, and was laid in a bed filled with sweet 
odors, and spices prepared by the apothecary's art, and a great burning 
was made for him. but history does not give record that so much 
honor was shown to the memory of the composer of this fable, more on 
account of the whole fiction she left, but it became generally known 
that the statement written or painted about her, under her statue in the 
yard of st. paul's church, london, w^as, that she had left her subjects in 
the lurch, with her face toward the wine and brandy shop, and her back 
toward the church, which articles she was known to be fond of. 

CHAPTER XVH. 

A king, had his kingdom established in his land by the lord, and his 
priests had the book of the law of the lord, and taught people in cities ; 
and people brought tributes of silver, and seven hundred and seventy 
rams, seven hundred and seventy he-goats, seven hundred and sixty 
thousand mighty men of valor are stated to have been wath three 
kings, besides those in cities, these incredible numbers, or similar ones, 
are, in many parts of the work elizabeth left, stated to have been under 
command of some of her numerous fabled kings, although she pretends 
to know when the earth and man was first formed, and that *was the 
beginning of all things ; and as the whole workpalbably shows itself to 
be the production principally of one mind, constantly exceeding the 
bounds of nature, reason, and probability, such statements must convince 
most persons who read them that they are blundering fictions. 

CHAPTER XVIII; 

One king killed sheep and oxen in abundance for another king ; and 
one of these fabled kings tells the other to inquire of the lord to-day, 
and asks if there was not a prophet of the lord by whom they might 
inquire of the lord ; and one king said the lord told him to push with 
iron horns, two kings sat op a throne in a void place, and all the proph- 
ets prophecied before them, surely the queen must have forgotten she 
had stated many hundreds of prophets existed, the lord asks, who shall 



II. CHRONICLES, 179 

entice the king of israel that he may fall ? a spirit came out before the 
lord and said, i will entice him ! the lord asks him wherewith ; and it 
said it would be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets ; and the 
^ord said, do so and thou shalt prevail, many kings are treated of in 
the same inconsistent style, as numerous others have been, manifestly by 
a sprig of royalty. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

A king tells his people that a priest is over them in all matters of 
the lord ! which shows the composer of the fable knew priests had 
great power over people, and that it was her wish they should con- 
tinue to exercise that power over her subjects. 

CHAPTER XX. 

A king stood in the house of the lord, and asked god if it did not 
drive the inhabitants of this land before the people of israel ! these fa- 
bled people, who it is chronicled were all given up to spoilers by the 
lord ; and half a million fell at one time, all slain ! and at another tinie 
the lord sat in ambush against a nation of people, and another nation slew 
them ; and when they had made an end of destroying th einhabitants of 
Syria, every one helped to destroy another, and they were all dead bod- 
ies ! none escaped, in stripping them, an abundance of riches and 
jewels were found, more than the destroyer could carry ; and they 
were three days gathering the spoil ; and the lord made them rejoice 
over 'their enemies, and fear was on the people wjien they heard the 
lord had fought ! and well might such a contrast to the character pre- 
viously recorded of such a supposed invisible power alarm credulous 
people. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

A king dies, and gave his sons much silver, gold, and fenced cities ; 
another king, in true royal style, took the daughter of another king to 
wife ; his queen and princes went forth in chariots ! and after this the 
lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable sickness ; so that, at 
the end of two years, his bowels fell out ! this cruel statement is re- 
corded as a prophecy four verses previously ; and many credulous, 
deluded people frequently refer to the statements of prophecies that 
came to pass, which are frequently inserted in the same- manner as the 
one in this chapter. 



180 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XXII. 

A king, whose name and his manners also are recorded, went to war 
with another king, surely any person who reads the fables made by 
the queen of her innumerable fabled kings, and their ambushments, 
encampments, ensigns, standards, tents, priests, trumpet-blowers, cha- 
riots, charioteers;, men running before them, horsemen, footmen, shield 
and spearmen, bowmen, and a host of other humble servants — if they 
had even when a child thought as a child, that such fables were the 
word of an invisible lord, when they make use of their reasoning pow- 
ers must consider those who have by long and continued efforts per- 
suaded them so to think — must as adult, have known better, or other- 
wise that they w^ere deluded by the persuasions of deceived, credulous 
ancestors, a woman, it is stated, when she saw her son was dead, de- 
stroyed all the seed royal ! this is an unusual wandering from the general 
style of elizabeth through the work she left, as in most parts of it she 
allows all sprigs of royalty great honor and power but at a late- hour ; 
wine-bibbers are apt to be yet more wild than in earlj'' hours ; repeti- 
tion is made of the story of a king's daughter stealing a prince from 
among others that were- slain, and hid him and his nurse in abed-cham- 
ber, so he was hid in the house of god six years, which story attributes 
much greater power to one woman than any sober person would be 
likely to do, while conferring unlimited power to kings, and yet repre- 
sent that a woman caused royal families and every body .else to be so 
afraid of her, that it was necessary to hide a king's son one minute, 
much less six years. 

EZRA : CHAPTER I. 

A king had his spirit stirred up by the word of the lord, through the 
mouth of a man that another man put in the stocks, and some princes 
put in a nett in which he stuck fast in slime, the king tells the people 
the lord hath given him all the kingdoms of the earth ; and charged me 
to build him an house, and that other men help with silver, gold, goods 
and beasts, five thousand vessels of silver and gold, with an incredible 
quantity of other valuables and precious things, are stated to have been 
brought. 

CHAPTER II. 

Priests to the number of nine hundred and seventy-three are treated 
of, and a congregation of forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty ; 



EZRA. 181 

and people gave sixty-one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand 
pounds of silver, and an hundred priests' garments, thus it is plain to 
be seen that the composing queen hath bestowed great power and wealth 
on another fabled king, and hath allowed him a numerous host of priests 
as aids, as usual, in her imagination through this fable, as well as the 
preceding parts of the work she left. 

CHAPTER III. 

King david's memory is honored by trumpet-blowing priests, and by 
all the people shouting with a great shout, when the foundation of the 
house of the lord was laid ; but many of the priests wept aloud, and 
many shouted for joy, so that people could not discern the noise of the 
joyous shout to that of weeping, for the noise was heard far off. 

CHAPTER IV. 

King cyrus is opposed by others hiring counsellors to frustrate him, 
until another king reigns over his kingdom ; a chancellor and scribe 
write a letter to another king, stating jews were building a rebellious bad 
city, one king is styled king of kings ; and a priest, the scribe of the 
law of god of heaven, seven counsellors of a king are treated of. rams, 
lambs, meatofferings, and drinkofferings, with much silver and gold, are 
treated of in this fable in similar manner as they have been in the pre- 
ceding part of the work. 

CHAPTER V. 

A king had a letter sent him by a governor about an house being 
built with great stones, and timbers laid in the walls, and of the work- 
men being asked who commanded them to build the house ; they answer, 
we are the servants of the god of heaven, and build the house that was 
built many years ago, which a great king builded ; and, as usual, the 
queen allows this fabled king possession of much gold and silver, and 
allows the king to send his pleasure concerning the matter. 

CHAPTER VI. 

A king makes decree to have search made in the hOuse of the rollsy 
where the treasures were laid, it is not wonderful or mysterious that 
queen elizabeth, while reigning, should know the fact that in her par- 
liament-house there was an official styled master of the rolte ; nor that 
her recollection of that term should have caused her to use it in the 
work she left. 



182 < REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER VII. 

A king grants this ready scribe all his request, according to the hand 
of the lord, and singers, priests, and porters went up to Jerusalem in 
the seventh year of this king's reign, the copy of a letter is treated of 
that a king gave to a priest, wherein he treats of his realm and his seven 
counsellors, and of silver and gold offerings, and of buying bullocks, 
rams, lambs, meatofferings, drinkofferings, to offer on the altar of the 
house of god, and allows priests to do with the rest of the silver and 
gold according to the will of god. plenty of wine is also treated of^ 
under the inspiration of which the fable indicates it must have been 
written, the composer asks, why should there be wrath against the 
king and his sons } adding, whosoever will not do the law of the king, 
let judgment be speedily executed on him, whether it be death, banish- 
ment, imprisonment, or confiscation of goods, surely no one person who 
carefully examines the contents of the bible, and strives to form a rea- 
sonable opinion, can believe them to be written by any other being than 
a cruel monarch, Who considered herself the highest power of all. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

A king's band of soldiers, horsemen, counsellors, and lords are treated 
of, and the king allows his priests to have the oft-repeated catalogue of 
gold vessels to take to the house of god. twelve bullocks, ninety-six 
rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve he-goats were for a burnt offer- 
ing unto the lord, surely no sober sane person would write in one 
book of fiction that one power had created all things, and also write that 
the same power was continually allowing much of its own creating to 
be burnt to please itself. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Kings and priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of 

the land, and for a little space god gave grace, and allowed us a nail in 

his holy place, and hath extended mercy in the sight of the kings, ezra 

says, when he heard that the holy seed had mingled with people, he 

rent his garment, plucked off the hair of his head and beard, and sat down 

astounded ; and at the evening sacrifice fell on his knees, spread out his 

hands, and said, o my god ! I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my 

face. 

CHAPTER X. 

A king's high house, priests' sons putting aw^ay their wives, a nda long 



NEHEMIAH. 183 

list of names, constitute the principal part of this chapter, those who 
do not come within three days are to have their substance forfeited. 
as the composer states, consultation was made to make this covenant 
with god to put wives away, and those that were born of them, and 
as she knew her father, king henry the eighth set the example of put- 
ting his wives away, it appears as though she thought that royal mode 
of conduct should be enjoined on princes by compulsion, and all israel 
were made to swear they would do according to this word, and priests 
into the bargain. 

NEHEMIAH : CHAPTER L 

A king's cupbearer and jews are treated of; and a man says he 
fasted certain days, and prayed to god that it might keep its eyes and 
ears open, and be attentive and hear his prayer, and requires god to re- 
member the word of its servant, moses the murderer. 

CHAPTER II. 

A king has wine given him, and his cupbearer said to him, let the 
king live forever, and the cupbearer prays to god also, and the king, 
with the queen sitting by his side, was very sociable with his praying 
cupbearer and sent captains and horsemen with him. so off he goes 
by night,- out of a gate before the dragon-well, and viewed walls by 
the dung-port, and to the king's pool, and told people the words the 
king had spoken to him. 

CHAPTER III. 

A king is treated of priests build the sheep-gate, people mortgage 
their land to get money to pay the king's tribute, it is hopeful that this 
only occurred in the imagination of the queen composer, some men 
built the fish-gate, and laid the beams, set up the doors, locks, and bars 
thereof, others did all the same to the old gate, each item being dis- 
tinctly again specified in the same style as the child's story of the house 
that jack built, the dung-gate and other gates, with a long list of odd, 
droll -sounding names of fabled builders, are treated of also. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Rulers and nobles are treated of, and workmen building a wall, each 
one holding a weapon in one hand and working with the other ; those 



184 REVIEW OF 

carrying burdens also, surely the composer never imagined they had 
to climb either ladder or scaffold v^hile she composed this fable. 

CHAPTER V. 

King's tribute is paid by people mortgaging their lands, vineyards, 
&c., to raise the money; and governors take vrine and precious metal 
from people ; and one says all that was prepared for him daily was one 
ox, six choice sheep and fowls, and once in ten days all sorts of wine. 

CHAPTER VI. 

A king is treated of with respect of reporting to him something about 
building a wall. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

A king, nobles, and rulers are treated of, and a large great city that 
the houses were not built of, and the people were few. but the compo- 
ser's imagination leads her to treat of a congregation amounting to forty- 
two thousand three hundred and sixty^ besides seven thousand three 
hundred and thirty-seven servants and two hundred and forty-five 
singers, seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty- 
five mules, four hundred and thirty-five camels, six thousand seven 
hundred and twenty asses, she also states twenty-one thousand drams 
of gold were given to the treasurer of the work, and two thousand 
two hundred pounds of silver, fifty basins, and sixty-seven priest's gar- 
ments, the fable is trimmed off" with porters and more singers. 

CHAPTER vnr. 

Ezra, the priest and scribe, read before the street that was before 
the water rgate, standing on a pulpit of wood, all the people and the 
priests were gathered to understand the law god had commanded by 
moses the murderer, and every one made them booths on the roofs of 
their houses, and in the street of the water-gate, and in the water-gate, 
and in the courts of the house of god, and sat under the booths, and 
kept feast seven days. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Kings and people, and their lands, wells, vineyards, &c., are taken by 
the same power the composer hath bestowed the character of kind and 
just to, and given to others that they might do with them as they would. 



NEHEMIAH. 185 

CHAPTER X. 

Priests, porters, singers, wives, sons, daughters, moses's judgments, 
statutes, ordinances, shew-bread, continual meat-offerings, continual 
burnt-offerings, debt, which such kind of exaction would continually 
increase, until the creditor suffered, and the debtor could never get re- 
lease, neither does the composer forget to require wine ; and the fable 
strongly indicates she did not forsake that article while fabricating this 
part of the work she left, in which she allows the priests who were 
bedecked with holy linen breeches, reaching from their loins to their 
thighs, should be present when the tithes were taken from the people. 

CHAPTER XT. 

Priests, porters, gates, cities, and the fabled king Solomon's servants, 
are treated of, and a catalogue of names through thirty-six verses, with- 
out^ pretence that any lord or god spake a word. 

CHAPTER Xn. 

Priests, chiefs, singers, villages, porters, wives, children, fish-gates, 
other gates, and walls with a medley of other things, are treated of, 
through forty-seven verses, without pretence that any lord or god spake 
a word. 

CHAPTER Xni. 

The book of moses the murderer was read ; in it was written that 
the amorites and the moabites should not ever come into the congre- 
gation of god ! kings and priests are treated of ; one priest had prepared 
him a great chamber, where the meat-offerings, and tithes of corn, oil, 
wine, and many other good visible things were laid, the fable proving 
that the queen composer thus far, through the work she left, retained 
fond recollection of wine ; which she bore the reputation of doing hon- 
or to, after she did dine ; and she now attributes to her fabled prophet 
nehemiah, that he told god that he had cursed jews, and smote certain 
of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear ! and allows 
that her fabled king solomon was caused to sin by outlandish women ; 
but the probability is, no women could be found more guilty of such 
conduct than the author of this fable, the queen of the palace of st. 
James, in london city, where all farthings are coined, and where spar- 
rows abound, as she treats of in her new testament. 

13 



186 REVIEW OF 

ESTHER: CHAPTER I. 

A king seated on his throne in a palace, made a feast to his princes 
and servants, and showed the honor of his excellent majesty one hun- 
dred and eighty days, and when these days expired made a feast to the 
people seven days in the garden court of his palace, which was hung 
around with green and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen 
to silver rings, and pillars of marble ; the beds were of gdd and silver, 
on pavements, of rich variegated marble, and wine was given in vessels 
of gold in abundance ! the king's officers were commanded to do accor- 
ding to every man's pleasure, surely no person would have written 
such a fable but one well acquainted with a court of an earthly mon- 
arch who was a wine-bibber ; and under its inspiration queen vashtie 
made a feast to the women of the royal house ; and on the seventh day 
the king's heart was merry with wine, and sent his chamberlain to bring 
queen vashtie with the royal crown, to show the princes and people 
her beauty ; the queen refuses to be thus exposed, and the king's anger 
burned in him and decreed every man should bear rule in his own 
house ! surely royal proof is here sufficient to show that composer did 
much more know about the extravagancies of earthly courts than she 
did of anything invisible, and also that she knew from experience that 
wine had made her heart and that of her licentious father's merry many 
times. 

CHAPTER n. 

King ahashuerus's wrath got appeased ; then his servants recommend 
the appointment of officers to search through the kingdom, and gather 
all the fair young virgins, and put them in custody of the king's cham- 
berlain, and when they had undergone purification with sweet odors, 
myrrh, &c., for twelve months, let them come to the king in turns 
in the evenings, and leave his highness next day, bj'' passing to the 
house where the chamberlain kept the concubines, and never more come 
in to the king except his majesty delighted in them ; and the king was 
pleased with thefplan, and so might be any living man. the fair and 
beautiful esther was taken unto the king in his royal house in the tenth 
month ; whichjpart of the fable contradicts the former part, which states 
the fair virgins were all to be purified for twelve months previous to 
their being honored with the company of the king one night, that he 
might please his fancy, and choose the one he most delighted in to be 
his queen and|companion ; and the fable accounts that he loved esther 
above all, and he made her queen, and made a great feast. 



ESTHER. 187 

CHAPTER III, 

The king promotes a certain man, who recommends him to have all jews 
destroyed, and offers to pay ten thousand talents of silver to those who 
should have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treas- 
uries, on account of this grand, cruel offer, the king gave him his ring ; 
and letters were sent by post to kill all jews in one day, and both pro- 
jector and king sat down to drink, no one would write such a fable but 
a monarch, we think. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The king's chamberlain is called by the queen, she tells him that 
all the king's servants know that whomsoever do go into the inner 
court that are not called will be put to death, for that is the law, except 
such as the king may hold out the gold sceptre to. this fable, surely, 
ought to convince every reader that it hath been fabricated by a reign- 
ing monarch, who from luxurious living had been encouraged to think 
it right people should be subjected to persecution or death by the ca- 
price of rulers. 

CHAPTER V. 

The king sitting on his royal throne, saw queen esther, and held out 
the gold sceptre to her, and tells her he would grant her request even 
to the half of his kingdom, she proposes that the king and haman 
come to a banquet she had prepared, haman goes joyfully ; but when 
he saw mordecai, he was full of indignation, for he was the man he had 
thought to get hanged, and he caused a gallows to be made seventy-five 
feet high. 

CHAPTER VI.^1 

The king asks what honor had been done to mordecai ^ his servants 
say nothing, haman had come to speak to the king to hang mordecai, 
who is taken into favor by the king, and richly attired, and then ha- 
man hasted to his house mourning. 

CHAPTER VII; 

The king and haman came to banquet with queen esther, and the 
king tells her again that her request shall be granted, while he was at 
the banquet of wine, she states the king arose from the banquet of 



188 . REVIEW OF 

wine in wrath, went into the palace garden, and returned to the place of 
the banquet of wine ; and the king said haman was on the same bed 
with the queen, and said, will he force the queen before me. as the 
word went out of the king's mouth, haman's face was covered, and one 
of the king's chamberlains said to the king, behold the gallows haman 
made for mordecai. the king said, hang him there ! the command was 
obeyed, and the king's wrath was pacified. 

CHAPTER vm. 

The king gives queen esther the house of haman, the Jew's enemy ; 
and the queen's uncle mordecai came before the king, who gave him his 
ring that he had taken from haman. the queen beseeches the king with 
tears, to put away his device he had formed against the jews, the king 
held out the golden sceptre to the queen, and told her and her uncle ha- 
man was hanged because he had laid his hands on the jews ; and says, 
write ye to the jews in the king's name, and seal it with the king's seal, 
which no man may reverse, this looks as though the composer might 
have pictured this fabled king in her imagination during the reign of 
her father, and that she thought he ought to have the power to destroy 
those who would dare reverse his commands ; for it is not probable that 
any other being but a sprig of hereditary monarchy would compose 
such a fable. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The king told the queen the jews had destroyed five hundred men in 
the palace, and the queen requests the king to let the same be done the 
next day, and let haman's ten sons be hanged, the kiog is again rep- 
resented to be very loving and kind to his fair queen, telling her the 
request shall be done, thus it is again plain to be seen that the com- 
posing queen still thought it right her subjects to affright with pretences 
that her fabled ancient kings had people slain without judge or jury, 
according to their caprice or fury ; and as her subjects were not allowed 
the natural privilege of choosing who should rule and reign over them, 
laws might be enacted further to distress them, while sprigs of royalty 
allowed their minds to contemplate on such cruelties that abound in the 
work left by queen elizabeth. 

CHAPTER X. 
The king laid a tribute o^ land and on the isles of the sea. this 



JOB. 189 

queen elizabeth, of course, knew was the plan by which henry the 
eighth, her father, and herself were supported in splendor by, and she 
hath shown that her mind hath been too much occupied with royalty 
to reflect about any higher power than her fabled monarchs, or to fab- 
ricate any story respecting anything beyond visible realities, and does 
not mention a word respecting any lord, god, or ghost, or any satanic 
or angelic host, through either of the chapters of this book, although 
some proclaim the bible to be the word of the lord, yet it is not pre- 
tended that any such being spoke one word of the book of esther. the 
same is the case with numerous other chapters in several other books 
of the bible, and it is to be hoped that general education will convince 
the generality of the rising generation that the bible was introduced in 
the same manner as all other publications, and that different opinion to 
that respecting it is a mistaken and injurious delusion. 

JOB : CHAPTER I. 

Job's children feast, he sanctified them, the sons of god present 
themselves before their father, satan also ; and the lord and satan con- 
verse, and the loving kind lord allows satan power over all that job 
possessed, which is stated to be vast, his flocks, herds, camels, ser- 
vants, and children were slain, and his house destroyed ; and he rent 
his mantle and shaved his head, and said he would return as naked to 
his mother as he came from her. burnt-offerings are treated of in the 
composer's oft-repeated style. 

CHAPTER II. 

Again the sons of god present themselves before their father, satan 
also, again the lord and satan converse, and the lord allows this fabled 
former resident of heaven to do as he pleases with the perfect upright 
job, who is smote with sore biles from the sole of his foot to his crown, 
and the composer, to make the story appalling as possible, according to 
many other of her fables of cruelty, states job sat down among ashes 
and scraped himself with a potsherd ; thus exceeding the bounds of 
nature and probability in about as great a degree as the rest part of the 
work she left, the only favorable view that can be taken of the work 
and its authoress, is, that she probably wrote it for amusement, as it 
was not published until james the first, her successor's reign, the com- 
poser states every one of job's friends rent their mantles, sprinkled dust 
on their heads, and sat on the ground seven days and nights with him^, 



190 REVIEW OF 

and none spake a word, surely the inconsistency of the chapter is far 
from proving that the composer either knew of such a fabled sufferer, 
or of such an imaginary satan, or any invisible loving kind lord. 

CHAPTER III. 

Job opens his mouth and talks of kings and counsellors, silver and 
gold, infants, servants, prisoners^ and of his own sighing and roaring. 

CHAPTER IV. 

A man tells his dream, see verses 13, 14, 15, 16. 

CHAPTER V. 

The hungry eat. the lord saveth the poor from the sword, or 
so states the composer of the fable ; but experience proves the poor 
handle the sword and other instruments of destruction ; people 
are told they shall laugh at famine and destruction, this, likely, 
w^ould have been the feelings of the queen of the palace of st. james 
on such an occurrence. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Job records his grief to be heavier than the sand on the sea, and asks 
if there is any taste in the white of an egg, or can that which is unsa- 
vory be eaten without salt, and if his strength is as the strength of stones, 
or is his flesh brass ? rather a brazen story, surely, to be palmed on 
mankind by a tyrannical, unrelenting monarch, as the word of a power 
she states made the earth in one day. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Job says his flesh is clothed with w^orms and clods of dust, his skin 
is broken and loathsome, query, did the composer of the fables sup- 
pose job had already worn out the potsherd by scraping off his sores, 
and no other tool of the kind could be found } it surely looks as though 
this was her whim of the moment, and that too free use of wine had 
disordered her mind. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

A man tells job, though his beginning was small, his latter end should 
greatly increase. 



^ JOB 191 

CHAPTER IX. 

The composer's imagination appears to have led her to think the 
earth stood on pillars, as she states the pillars thereof were made to 
tremble, and job complains that god multiplied his wounds without 
cause, and will not suffer him to take breath, and says his days are 
swifter than a post, which part of the fable indicates the composer had 
made herself as stupid as a post while writing it by partaking of wine. 

CHAPTER X. 

The composer appears to feel conscious she had attributed too much 
cruelty to the same invisible spirit she had bestowed a loving kind 
character to, by stating her hero job interrogated the lord about oppress- 
ing and despising the work of its own hands, and asking it if it hath 
eyes of flesh, and tells it that it hunteth him as a fierce lion, surely 
the composer hath been too fierce with inconsistency to show sobriety. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Job is asked if he can by searching find out god, which plainly indi- 
cates the composer was well aware she could not. she treats of kings 
and judges, she of course knew her father was a king, and had judges 
in his courts. 

CHAPTER Xn. 

Kings, princes, judges, and counsellors are treated of. the queen, be- 
yond doubt, knew all these existed. 

CHAPTER Xni. 

This fabled sufferer asks why god hideth from him, and writes bitter 
things against him, and put his feet in the stocks ; this kind of punish- 
ment was inflicted on the trespassers of british laws, through the reigns 
of several monarchs, and was often practiced on offenders in the city 
where the composer and publisher of the bible resided, and for many 
years after their decease ; consequently, it is not wonderful elizabeth 
thought of it while writing the fabrication of a suffering man. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The composer acknowledges, man lieth down, dieth, wasteth away, 
and riseth not. and adds, if a man die, shall he live again ^ the com- 



192 REVIEW OF 

poser here appears to have been guided by reason and demonstrable 
proof she had seen. 

CHAPTER XV. 

A friend of job tells him man dwelleth in houses which no man in- 
habiteth, and in cities which are ready to become heaps ; and adds, he 
shall not become rich. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Job calls his friends miserable comforters, and says he hath sewed 
sackcloth on his skin, and in a few years he shall go and not return, 
this does not support the doctrine of resurrection. 

CHAPTEPv XVn. 

Job tells the worms they are his kindred, and that he shall go down 
to the pit, then their rest will be together. 

CHAPTER XVni. 

A man reproves job, and prophecies many prophecies. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Job tells those that torment him that his error remaineth with him- 
self, and that god hath encompassed him with a net ; I cry, but am not 
heard, god hath taken the crown off my head ! by this statement of 
the queen, it is to be seen that her mind contained wandering ideas 
about her crown, as she hath not before pretended job such a thing wore, 
but had represented him as a farmer. 

CHAPTER XX. 

One man prophecieth many troubles shall befall other men. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Job asks why the wicked live to be old, and become mighty in power I 
the great probability is that the composer of the fable felt this was the 
case with herself, as that was her character, and a large portion of her 
fables throughout the bible show constant aim to impress on the minds 
of her subjects that heirs to reigning monarchs shall reign in their stead, 
when the old rogues or fools are dead ; and that the sprigs of royalty 
shall rule, and have ruled, with more despotic sway than either her 
father or self did. this is the principle, then, of the bible she left. 



JOB. 193 

CHAPTER XXII. 

A man tells job that he shall lay up gold as dust, and a precious kind 
of gold as stone, and he shall have plenty of silver, and his decrees 
should be established, and the almighty should be his defence, if he 
would turn to the almighty. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Job says, o that 1 knew where I might find him. if I go forward or 
backward, or to the right or left, I cannot find him ; I would order my 
cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments, then would I un- 
derstand what he would say to me, and asks if he will plead against 
him. here the composer doth again show that she did not know the 
invisible spirit she pretends to picture forth to her subjects. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The adulterer and the barren are treated of. 

CHAPTER XXV. 
A man talks about the armies of god being without number. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Job says, dead things are formed under the waters. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Job says the rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered. 
he openeth his eyes and is not. the east wind hurleth him out of his 
place ; god shall not spare him, and men shall clap their hands and hiss 
at him. this shows the composer's whim of the moment was singularly 
different from her general imaginings, or at least frOTn her general pre- 
tence of knowledge, as she hath made numerous statements of kings 
princes, judges, priests, and other high functionaries living in splendor 

and being rich. 

CHAPTEPc XXVIII. 

Silver, gold, brass, iron, sapphires, gold dust, onyx-stones, and other 
precious articles are treated of, forming about the same assortment as 
those the composer makes statement of in the book of genesis, inter- 
spersed with some richer articles, such as diamonds, in her fable ofadam 
and eve ; most of the precious articles being treated of previous to the 
statement of the man having a wife made out of bone for him. 



194 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

The composer attributes to this hero the sillyness of saying, oh that 
I was as when I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured out 
rivers of oil to me ; the princes refrained talking, and laid their hands 
on their mouth, and the tongues of nobles clave to their mouth, it 
surely would have been much better for mankind if the composer's pen 
had never produced any more words than truth. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Job says the young hold him in derision, whose fathers he would have 
disdained to have set with the dogs of his flocks, for want and famine, 
they were fleeing into the wilderness in former times, they brayed 
under nettles, they were children of fools, base men, viler than the earth. 
Surely this must have been written while the composer was not in 
suitable condition to compose with reason, as she hath previously attrib- 
uted greatness of character to the spirit she states made the earth, 
which she now terms vile. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Job says, if his heart hath been deceived by woman, then let his wife 
grind unto another, in this case, the wife of job need to have been the 
most humble and patient of the two. thirteen other ifs are added : prin- 
ces, judges, gold, and money are treated of, and many other realities. 

CHAPTER XXXn. 

Elihu saw no answer in the mouth of three other men, and his wrath 
was kindled, and told the others he was young and they were old ; and 
that he was full of matter, and his belly as wine that hath no vent, and 
ready to burst like new bottles, and will speak that he maj^ be refreshed, 
the composer surely had drank the contents of some bottles. 

CHAPTER XXXni. 

Elihu tells job to stand up and set his words in order ; and also tells 
job that he is in god's stead, the composer of this fable hath shown' 
the same bold wildness in her fable of aaron and moses, where she states 
god told moses he should be as god to aaron ; job tells his interrogator 
god hath put his feet in the stocks. 



JOB. ^ 195 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Elihu tells wise men to give ear unto him, for job hath said he was 
righteous, and that it profiteth a man nothing to delight in god. a man 
shall return to dust, all shall perish together ; hearken to my words, is 
it fit to say to a king, thou art wicked ! or to princes, thou art ungodly ? 
thus the composing queen continues striving to impress the minds of 
her subjects with awe, to cause them to render surveillance to royalty. 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

Elihu recommends people to trust in god, although they say they do 
not see him. this is recorded, that the supposed spirit could be discern- 
ed three hundred and seven years ago. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Elihu tells people god doth establish kings, and they are exalted ; 
thus it is seen that the composing queen still continues boldly to blend 
her assumption of knowledge in deity with royalty. 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

This fable tells god thundereth marvellously with his voicCa and that 
we cannot find him out, and that he respecteth not the wise, and men 
fear him. a full acknowledgment that men fear from supposition of 
what they hear told. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

The lord, it is stated, answered job out of a whirlwind, and command- 
ed him to gird up his loins like a man, and answer it. it then asks job 
where he was when it laid the foundation of the earth, and if he had 
seen the treasures of the hail which it had reserved against the day of 
battle and war, and asks, who can stay the battles of heaven ? this com- 
position can scarcely fail to convince readers who wish to be guided by 
reason that the composer wrote under inspiration, caused from what she 
had drank. 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The composer states, the lord told job that the horse is not aflrighted 
at the sword, and he swalloweth ground with fierceness, and does not 
believe in the sound of the trumpet, and sayeth among them, ah, ah ! 
and smelleth the battle far off, and the thundering of the captains. 



lOS- REVIEW OF 

queen elizabeth, beyond doubt, knew more about captains, swords, and 
horses than she did of any invisible lord. 

CHAPTER XL. 

Contains repetition that the lord answered job out of a whirlwind, and 
commanded him again to gird up his loins like a man, and asks job if 
he can thunder with a voice like god ! and commands job to deck him- 
self with majesty, and array himself with glory and beauty, the com- 
poser adds indecency in seventeenth verse, and treats of swords and 
drink in others. 

PSALMS : CHAPTER I. 

King david bestows blessings on the man that sitteth not with the 
scornful. 

PSALM n. 

Treats of kings and counsellors, and of a king being set on a hill, and of 
heathens being given to others who were commanded to break thena 
with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces, kings and judges are not 
forgotten by the queen composer. 

PSALM IIL 

King david, the fabled man after gods own heart that had people 
drawn under axes, saws, and iron harrows, says, he cried to the lord and 
it heard him out of an hill. 

PSALM IV. 
King david tells god it had enlarged him. 

PSALM V. 
' King david calls god king, and commands it to give ear to his words. 

PSALM VL 

King david tells the lord there is no remembrance of it in death, and 
aslis it who shall give thanks to it in the grave. 

PSALM VII. 

King david commands the lord to arise in its anger. 



PSALMS 197 

PSALM VIII. 

King david tells the lord it hath put all things under the feet of men. 

PSALM IX. 

King david tells the lord david's enemies shall fall at itspresence, and 
talks about the lord making inquisition for blood. 

PSALM X. 

King david asks the lord why it hideth itself, and styles it king. 

PSALM XI. 

King david tells the lord its throne is in heaven, and that its eyelids 
do something. 

PSALM XII.; 

King david tells the lord that every one speaketh with flattering 
lips of his neighbor, and commands it to cut off such lips, and tells the 
lord its words are pure as silver. 

PSALM XIII. 
King david asks the lord how long it will hide its face from him."; 

PSALM XIV. 

King david tells the lord that it looked down, and says some say, 
there is no god ! according to this statement, written three hundred and 
seven years ago, it appears all were not satisfied at |that period that 
such a supposed invisible spirit existed. 

PSALM XV. 

King david the murderer tells the lord he hath always set the lord 
before him ; the composer also remembers money in this fable, as in 
many others. 

PSALM XVI. 

King david tells the lord he hath set it always before him, and that 
it is at his right hand, this, it is reasonable to suppose, is a contradiction 
to its being always before the king's nose, who tells the lord it will 
not let its holy one see corruption while speaking of himself. 



198 REVIEW OF 

^ PSALM XVII 



King david commands the lord to give ear unto his prayer, that goeth 
not out of feigned lips -,] and tells the lord it hath visited him in the night, 
and commands it to hear his speech, and to hide him under the shad- 
ow of its wings. 



PSALM XVIII. 



^ King david says his cry came into the ears of god ! he surely need 
to have one within the shot of a gun, or its sound. 



PSALM XIX. 

King david makes some remarks respecting a bridegroom coming out 
of his chamber ; and tells the lord its judgments are more to be desired 
than much fine gold, or honey, this is truly funny. 

PSALM XX. 

King david recommends that burnt sacrifices be accepted ; and the in- 
numerable fables that have preceded this manifestly amount to strong 
circumstantial proof that no other writer would have thought of 
making sue h statements but a person similarly situated as queen eliza- 
beth, revelling in profusion without their care or payment, and that even 
such a person would only be bold enough when inspired by wine or 
other strong drink. 

£ PSALM XXI. 

King david tells the lord, it hath set a crown of pure gold on his 
head ! and given him length of days forever, and hath laid honor and maj- 
esty on him ; for the king trusted in the lord. 

PSALM XXII. 

King david now cries to god, to know why it hath forsaken him ; 
and why it is so far from helping him, and from the words of his roar- 
ing ! this indicates that the composer of the fable had partaken too free 
of wine in the interim between writing this psalm and the preceding 
one. she states her hero david'tells the lord, they that see him laugh him 
to scorn, and shoot out the lip and shake their head. 

PSALM XXIII. 

? King david tells the lord it maketh him to lie down in green pasture^ 



PSALMS. 199 



and preparest a table for him and anointest his head with oil. the 
queen hath been liberal through her work with oil. 



PSALM XXIV. 

King david says the lord is strong in battle ; and as battles have been 
much resorted to in the work elizabeth left, there can be no reason to 
doubt that she knew more about them than she did of any lord, from 
her sight and from everybody else's hid. 

PSALM XXV. 

King david tells the lord he trusts in it, and requests it not to let 
him be ashamed, and tells it he is desolate and afflicted, thus it can be 
seen that the composing queen hath fabricated zig-zag stories through 
a great portion of the work she left, which are still palmed on mankind 
as holy. 

PSALM XXVL 

King david tells the lord he hath walked in integrity, and shall not 
slide, and also tells it he hath not walked with vain persons, and that 
he will wash his hands in innocency, and that his foot standeth in an 
even place, by this it appears the queen of the fable thought as she 
had styled this hero as being a man after god's own heart, and had also 
laid to his charge ordering people to be cut up like mince-meat, it was 
necessary to smooth his cruelties over somewhat. 

PSALM XXVIL 

King david says, when his foes came to eat his flesh, they stumbled ; 
and says the lord shall set him on a rock, and hide him in its pavilion. 

PSALM XXVIIT. 

King david commands the lord to hear his supplication when he cries 
with uplifted hands. 

PSALM XXIX. 

King david says the voice of the lord breaketh cedars and maketh 
them to skip like a calf, surely this is enough to make priests laugh 
while people pay them to preach from such a book, that they rarely 
into it look. 



200 REVIEW OF 

PSALM XXX. 

King david says the lord's anger endureth but for a moment, here 
it is plain to be seen that the composing queen forgot, while she was 
fabricating this story, that she had stated in her flood fable that the 
lord destroyed nearly all that drew the breath of life, by letting water 
fall out of the windows of heaven, and breaking up the fountains of 
the deep, so as to cover all mountains nine months, and that the lord 
favored noah more than his own sons, daughters-in-law, and grand- 
children, and every other human being, yet she did not bestow a good 
character on this hero of the flood fable, so chosen by an invisible, al- 
mighty, and allwise spirit, according to the work she left, but treats of 
the drunkenness of the highly favored noah zig-zag, like the most of 
said-to-be holy scripture. 

PSALM XXXL 

King david commands the queen's lord to bow down its ear to him, 
and tells it that it hath set his foot in a large room. 

PSALM XXXIL 

King david says, when he kept silence, his bones waxed old, through 
his roaring all the day long, and tells the lord it shall compass him with 
songs of deliverance. 

PSALM XXXIIL 

King david says, let the inhabitants of the earth stand in awe of the 
lord, the inmates of lunatic hospitals are sad evidence that many have 
felt awe, and lost their reason by the effect of the awe brought on them 
by contemplating on stories and sermons they have heard about the 
cruelties attributed to a supposed invisible lord. 

PSALM XXXIV. 

King david talks about an angel encamping round about the fearful. 

PSALM XXXV. 

King david requests the lord to plead his cause, and to fight against 
them that fight against him ; and commands it to take hold of shield 
and buckler, and stand up as its help, and let its angel chase them. 



PSALMS. 201 

PSALM XXXVI. 

David tells the lord its faithfulness reaches to the clouds, here it is 
seen the'composing queen made no allowance for faithfulness after th& 
clouds had descended into rain on account of their weight. 

PSALM XXXVII. 

David, it is twice stated, tells people not to fret ; but how could the 
composer of the fables expect people could be free from fretting who 
were ruled by such a- cruel despot as she hath represented her fabled 
david to have been ; commanding people to be chopped up like minced 
meat for pies, and that without judge or jury, by the cruel, monster 
man after god's own heart, as she hath stated in her imaginings. 

PSALM XXXVIII. 

David tells the lord its arrows stick fast in him, and its hand presses 
him sore ; and there is no soundness in his flesh, because of its anger, 
which is repeated, and this hero is otherwise described by himself a- 
very loathsome, disagreeable, swelling fellow. 

PSALM XXXIX. 

David tells the lord he will keep his mouth with a bridle, and that 
he was dumb, and held his peace from good ; his heart was hot, and 
while he mused the fire burned ; I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, 
the composer might have pictured this hero as a better, and less-to-be- 
dreaded character than sjie has done, if she had kept him dumb through- 
out her fables. 

PSALM XL.] 

David says the lord hath put a new song in his mouth, so now let 
us hope for a better theme ; but this cruel hero begins to sing that he 
hath preached righteousness, and tells the lord it knoweth he hath not 
refrained his lips, and hath not hid righteousness within his heart, and 
tells the lord he is poor and needy, this is a bold contradiction, in his 
new song that is pretended the lord put in his mouth, to the immense 
wealth that is stated he gave his son solomon, and plainly shows the 
lack of sober reflection in the composer of the fables. 

PSALM XLI. 

David tells the lord all that hate me whisper against me, and devise 

14 



202 REVIEW or 

his heart, and his familiar friend lifteth up his hell against him, and 

tells a flattering tale that the lord upholds him in his integrity, and sets 

him before its face forever ; vt^hich shows the composer lacks sober 

consideration. 

PSALM XLIL 

David tells god that tears have been his meat day and night, while 
they continually say unto him, where is thy god ! this looks as though 
the composer had reflected on her incompatible character, she had be- 
stowed on what she knew nothing of. 

PSALM XLIIL 

David tells god to plead his cause, which he does again and again, in 
other parts of the work. 

PSALM XLIV. 

David says our fathers have told what god did in time of old ; can't 
the present generation claim the same knowledge of the same invisible, 
and no more. 

PSALM XLV. 

David says he speaks of things touching the king, and his tongue is 
a ready writer. 

PSALM XLVL 

David claims for himself and his people the intrepid courage of not 
fearing, even if the mountains were carried into the midst of the sea ; 
as the composer hath portrayed him so nimble as to slay a giant, and 
wield the giant's sword, her imagination might easily have led her to 
suppose he could quickly skip to the plains. 

PSALM XLVII. 

David says the lord is a great king, this is the resource most men 
apply to when they picture in their imagination fabled spirits, that they 
are formed like themselves, but larger. 

PSALM XLVIIL 

Kings saw god ; they marvelled and hasted away ; fear took hold of 
them, as a woman in travail, this condition of woman is oft refered to 
by the virgin queen. 



PSALMS. 203 

PSALM XLIX. : 

King david tells his people, he will open a dark saying on the harp, 
and says none of them that trust in wealth give god a ransom for their 
brother, this shows that the composing queen, while revelling in 
wealth and splendor, strove to frighten her subjects into the belief that it 
was more safe for them to part with their wealth, for the honor and 
satisfaction of an invisible spirit that her bungling portray of shows she 
knew nothing about, and that she did not believe such a thing existed. 

PSALM L. 

King david says god shall come, and a fire shall devour before it, and 
it shall be very tempestuous round about it. let us hope that the tem- 
pest will be hail, rain, and snow, that the fire may go out before all are 
devoured by the merciful, loving, kind lord, who here, it is stated, will 
not take any bullock out of david 's house, nor he-goat out of his folds ; 
and also tells david if it were hungry it would not tell him, and asks 
david if it will eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats ? this 
looks as though the composer had for a moment considered she had fab- 
ricated too wildly to gain respect for her lord, although the fable 
throughout indicates its composer was not in a suitable condition to 
compose with reason while writing it. she adds something about god 
tearing people in pieces. 

PSALM LI. 

David tells god that he was shapen in iniquity, and his mother was 
guilty of sin on account of his formation, and commands god to build 
the walls of Jerusalem, and then it shall be pleased with burnt-offerings, 
and bullocks shall be sacrificed on its altar. 

PSALM LII. 

David says he is like a green olive-tree in the house of god forever. 

PSALM LIIL 

Repetition is m.ade that some say there is no god, which indicates 
the composer's mind did not possess constant belief that a power existed 
so much more mighty than herself with the armies at command, as she 
had bunglingly attempted to frighten her subjects with. 



204 REVIEW OF 

PSALM LIV. 



David requires the lord to give ear to the words of his mouth, and 
tells it he will freely sacrifice unto it. the queen hath previously pic- 
tured this hero as being free to destroy life, limb, and property. 



PSALM LV. 



David again tells god not to hide itself, and requests it to divide other 
men's tongues, and let death seize them, and flatters god with the 
promise that he will call on it and will cry aloud. 



PSALM LVL 



David tells god his enemies would daily swallow him up, and asks god 
if they shall escape, and requires it to cast them down in anger, and also 
requires it to put his tears in its bottle, and asks it if they are not in its 
book, thus it is seen that bottles are not- forgot. 



PSALM LVIL 

David again requires god to save him from those that would swallow 
him up, and says it shall do so. 

PSALM LVIIL 

David declares some go astraj^, and speak lies as soon as they are 
born, experience proves all mankind are helpless for many months 
after they are born ; although the declaration is stated to have been 
made by the man after god's heart, who here requires god to break peo- 
ple's teeth, and to cut them in pieces, so that people shall say there is 
a god. thus the fable-composing queen continues to show her mind 
was cruelly inclined, and that cruel compulsion was needed to make 
people say there was a god. 

PSALM LIX. 

David tells the lord bloody men are gathered against him ; they run 
and prepare themselves, and make noise like a dog, belch out of their 
mouths, and swords are in their lips ; consume them in wrath ! let them 
know god ruleth, and let them return at evening, and make noise like 
a dog, and go around the city ; let them wander up and down for meat, 
surely it cannot be reasonably denied that the composer hath here added 
another proof of insobriety w^hile writing. 



PSALMS. 205 

PSALM LX. 

David tells god it hath made people drink the wine of astonishment, 
and given a banner to them that feared it, and said moab is my w^ash- 
pot ; and it would cast out its shoe over edom, proof undeniable of 
inebriation in the composer, and nothing else. 

PSALM LXL 

King david tells god it will prolong the king's life many generations. 
this, of course, is what both kings and queens would like to persuade 
any spirit to do, that they might for a moment imagine they had power 
so to act. 

PSALM LXIL 

King david sa3''s men of low degree are vanity, such hath been the 
composer's theme throughout her work, extolling kings, queens, princes, 
priests, and others of high degree, while she lays down rules to extort 
from the industrious classes the fruits of their industry. 

PSALM LXIIL 

David declares his flesh longeth for god in a dry and thirsty land, 
where there is no water ; but the king shall glory in god. 

PSALM LXIV. 

David says god shall shoot at his enemies with an arrow, and wound 
them suddenly ! all that see them shall flee, and all men shall declare 
the work of god ! but experience shows that those who wound by 
arrows from bows or by shots from guns, boast what they themselves 
in war have done. 

PSALM LXV. 

David tells a supposed invisible lord that the people at the ends of 
the earth are afraid of its tokens. 

PSALM LXVL 

David commands the land to sing forth, and make a joyful noise, and 
tell god how terrible are its works, and says god was extolled with his 
tongue. 



206 REVIEW OF 

PSALM LXVII. 

David tells the lord to cause its face to shine on people and let them 
praise it. ^ 

PSALM LXVIIL 

David requests people to let god arise, and talks to god about its 
inarch through the wilderness, then he states the earth shook, and 
the heavens dropped at its presence, a former fable in the said-to-be 
holy bible makes this declaration of the man after god's own heart, 
represents that god's throne dropped, and its footstool shook ; kings of 
armies, he states, did flee apace, and she that tarried at home divide d the 
spoil, this, beyond doubt, was well known to elizabeth while she tarried 
at the court of st. james. 

PSALM LXIX. . 

David says he made sackcloth his garment, and he was the song of 
the drunkard ; and the composer of the fable showeth that was her 
character much more clear than she shows knowledge of any god. she 
attributes to the hero of the psalms the silliness of declaring to a god 
that he is weary of crying, and that his throat is dried, and his eyes 
fail while he waits for his god ; also of telling god that more people 
hate him than the number of hairs on his head. 

PSALM LXX. 

David commands god to make haste to deliver him, and the lord to 
help him, and tells god he is poor and needy, where had his spoils 
all fled ? 

PSALM LXXL 

David again requires the lord to incline its ear unto him, and tells god 
that he is old and gray-headed, and to bring him up again from the 
depths of the earth. 

PSALM LXXn. 

David commands god to bestow special favors on the king and his 
sons, adding, he shall judge the poor. 

PSALM LXXIIL 

David^says the eyes of the wicked stand out with fatness, and they 



PSALMS. 207 

have more than heart could wish, a former fable represents that he 
had more than many a heart would crave. 

PSALM LXXIV. 

David asks god why its anger doth smoke against the sheep of its 
pasture, and tells it to remember the congregation which it had pur- 
chased; also that a man was famous according as he had lifted 
axes on thick trees, and commands god to arise and plead its own 
cause. 

PSALM LXXV. 

David tells god when he shall receive the congregation he will 
judge uprightly, some statement is made about red wine, the article 
the composer hath shown fond recollection of through the work she 
left, most parts of which indicate she partook of it too freely. 

PSALM LXXVI. 

The composer states god brake the arrows, the shields, the swords, 
and -the battle ; and by its rebuke the chariot is cast into a dead sleep. 

PSALM LXXVIL 

The queen states she called to remembrance her song in the night, 
and asks if god hath forgotten to be gracious ! and tells it its way is 
in the sea, and its path is in the great water, and also that its footsteps 
are not known ! she treats again of moses the murderer, and his fabled 
brother aaron, who was bedecked by the command of her imaginary in- 
visible spirit^ with linen breeches reaching from his loins to his thighs 
to cover his nakedness, with embroidered robes hung round with gold 
bells, that his sound might be heard when he comes into the holy place 
to minister unto it. 

PSALM LXXVIIL 

The queen commands her subjects to give ear to her law, and says 
she will utter dark sayings of old, which appears to be the truest story 
she hath told throughout the work she left, she refers to her fable of a 
sea being divided, and the waters standing up, and also to her fable of 
god commanding its fabled servant moses the murderer to strike a rock 
and bring water out of it, and treats of the doors of her fabled heav- 
en being opened, and corn from thence being given, altogether from 



208 REVIEW OF 

that imaginary region, without any assistance 'of earth or bright sol, and 
of manna and flesh reigning down on people, and of man eating angels, 
food ; and states her imaginary spirit slew the fattest of them ! and when 
it slew them, then they sought him ; but this imaginary being, being full 
of compassion, forgave them, surely such compassion would not have 
been any advantage to dead bodies ! but the composer assumes to know 
what her invisible remembered, and states it remembered the people, 
it had fed with corn and flesh of heaven, so that they got fat ; some of 
them so much so, that it slaughtered the fattest of them, and that it 
said they were but flesh ! the queen attributes another cruelty to this 
invisible that she states is full of compassion, that it smote all the first- 
born in the land of egypt, which is like the rest part of this psalm, 
repetition of some of her fables written under the title of her hero moses. 
her work in many other parts also abounds with repetitions, showing 
her lack of memory, and answering the purpose to confuse and tire read- 
ears, god, she states, was wroth, and gave his people Over to the 
sword; fire consumed the young men, and the maidens were not given 
in marriage, the state of celibacy often appears to ha;ve troubled the 
queen, in her fond recollection of wine, she states the lord awoke, like 
a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. 

PSALM LXXIX, 

- The queen tells her god the heathen have laid Jerusalem in heaps, 
and given the dead bodies of its servants to be meat to the fowls of 
heaven, and the flesh of its saints to beasts, and have shed blood like 
water ; and asks her lord if its jealousy shall burn like fire ! and where- 
fore the heathen should say, where is god ! let him be known among 
the heathen. 

PSALM LXXX. 

David asks the lord how long it would be angry aga inst the prayer 
of its people, and tells it that it feeds them with the bread of tears, and 
gives them tears to drink, and again commands it to cause its face to 
shine. 

PSALM LXXXL 

Sing aloud ! blow up the trumpets in the new moons, this was a law 
of the god of Jacob j so states the composer. 



PSALMS. 209 

PSALM LXXXII. 



God judgeth among the gods ! and the composer asks her god how 
long it will judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked, and 
commands it to defend the poor and the fatherless, and to do justice to 
the afflicted and needy. 



PSALM LXXXIIL 

The composer requests her god not to keep silence, and not to hold 
its peace, and not to be still. 

PSALM LXXXIV. 

The sparrow had found a house and the swallow a nest : these two 
birds abound in and around the city of london, where stands st. James's 
palace, the court or residence of both queen elizabeth, the writer of the 
bible, and the first king james of england, under whose auspices eliza- 
beth's work was published, and who also cherished and maintained the 
teacher thereof. 

PSALM LXXXV. 

David tells his supposed lord that it hath turned from the fierceness of 
its anger, and also asks it, if it will be angry forever, and offers to con- 
descend to hear what it will speak. 

PSALM LXXXVI. 

Again david tells his lord that he is poor and needy, which shows 
the fable-composer needed better memory ; for through along career of 
her hero david's pedigree she hath pictured him as possessing incredi- 
ble wealth, and bestowing enormous bequests to his son solomon. 

PSALM LXXXVIL 

Some statement is made that the lord loveth gates ; and that it shall 
count when he writeth up the people, that this and that man was born 
in zion. 

PSALM LXXXVin. 

David tells the lord he hath cried day and night before it, and ag ain 
requests it to incline its ear unto his cry, and tells it he is as a man 
free among the dead whom it remembereth no more ; which sentenc e is 
full of contradiction to the latter part of the queen's writings under the 



210 REVIEW OF 

title of the new testament, as that part of her work treats of the same 
supposed spirit sending human bodies into a fire that is never to be 
quenched, and where the sufferer never dies ; and that they had better 
enter into the kingdom of god with one eye, one hand, one foot, rather 
than their whole body should be cast into the unquenchable fire to burn 
forever, yet, notwithstanding the insertion of these bold, dismal threats 
in the preceding chapter to this, it is also inserted that the same spirit 
is full of compassion, plenteous in mercy, and of long-suffering, and gra- 
cious. 

PSALM LXXXIX. 

It is stated the lord says it hath sworn to david its servant that it 
would build up his throne to all generations, and will beat down his 
foes before his face, i have anointed him with oil : this is a repetition, 
and shows" the want of memory or sober reflection in the composer of 
the fable. 

PSALM XC. 

David tells his lord that it turneth man to destruction, for we are 
consumed by thine anger, and all our days are passed away in thy 
wrath, and tells it that even according to its fear so is its wrath, 
surely mankind would make themselves more happy by abandon- 
ing ^such irrational imaginations of ancestors, and turn their atten- 
tion wholly to the affairs and things that are demonstrably proven to 
them to be to their advantage to cultivate. 

, PSALM XCL 

David says the lord shall cover with its feathers, and some shall tread 
on the lion and adder, and trample the young lion and dragon under 
foot, surely no sane sober person would write so unreasonable and 
wild. 

PSALM XCIL 

David tells his lord it shall exalt his horn, like the horn of an unicorn, 
although this hero required for himself so dashing a horn, he would 
not let Uriah live to have the repute of wearing the humblest of all 
horns ; and, in addition to his self-aggrandizement thus far, declares he 
shall be anointed with oil. surely if the king was oiled many times, as 
hath been stated, he must have been a slippery thing. 



PSALMS. 211 

PSALM XCIII. 

David tells his lord that it hath girded itself, and its throne is estab- 
lished. 

PSALM XCIV. 

It is twice stated david tells the lord vengeance belongeth to it. 

PSALM XCV. 

It is stated the lord sware that a generation that had vexed it forty 
years should not enter into its rest, this number of forty hath often 
been uppermost on the composer's mind, as she stated moses was forty 
days and nights on a mount, without eating bread or drinking water, 
and jesus fasted forty days and nights, and then was hungry. 

PSALM XCVL 

David says his god is to be feared above all gods ; bring an offering 
and come into his courts. 

PSALM XCVIL 

David repeats that a fire goeth before the lord, and the hills melted 
like wax at his presence ; and tells it that it is exalted far above all 



gods. 



PSALM XCVIIL 



David tells people to make a loud noise, and sing with harp, trumpets, 
and cornet before the lord the king, so the queen shows thought for 
kings and musical instruments, which she, of course, was not a stranger to. 



PSALM XCIX. 

The composer states the lord sitteth between cherubims ; and treats of 
kings, which she knew considerable about, without doubt. 

PSALM C. 

David commands all lands to come before the lord, surely if a lord is 
every where, the land might as well keep in its place, but the fabled 
david commands that the land make a joyful noise, and enter into its 
gates and courts. 

PSALM CI. 

David asks his lord when it will come to him, and tells it where it 



212 REVIEW OF 

may find him. and the king tells his lord he will cut off all the. 
wicked of the land, this looks as though the composer would again 
allow this hero axes, saws, and iron harrows, to cut people up with, as 
before. 

PSALM CII. 

David again tells his lord not to hide its face, and to attend to his 
call, and speedily answer ; and that his bones are burned, and they 
cleave to his skin by reason of his groanings ; and that he is as a sparrow 
on the house-top. here david is represented in great contradictory style 
in this fable, as well as both himself and the supposed invisible god in 
numerous other parts of the queen's work, as may be seen at a glance ; 
where it is pretended a man with his bones burnt, and they also cleav- 
ing to his skin, is to be compared to the small nimble sparrows that con- 
stantly flit and skip through saint James's park, where stands the former 
residence of queen elizabeth, the composer of the present bible. 

PSALM cm. 

The composer states the lord made its ways known unto moses. she 
made a sad blunder about this hero in the first chapter that treats of 
moses, by her record of forgetfulness, as that was the fifty-second chap- 
ter she had attributed to him as being author of ; and gave an account 
in that he was then just born, and, before finishing the chapter, stamps 
this hero with the character of a murderer ; and through the rest part 
of her work styles him the servant of her god, and places him, by trusts 
she reposes in him, as itsjprincipal agent, and also represents him as a 
great robber and murderer. 

PSALM CIV. 

The composer states the lord covereth itself as with a garment, and 
stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain, and maketh the clouds its 
chariot, and watereth the hills from its chambers, and causeth herbs to 
grow for man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth, and wine 
that maketh the heart glad, and oil to make the face shine, the queen 
represented moses, the fabled murderer and servant of the lord, got his 
face to shine during his forty days on the mount, so that people were 
afraid of him, and he was ashamed, and wore a vail, and david, another 
fabled murderer, says, let sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let 
the wicked be no more : praise ye the lord. 



PSALMS. 21^ 

PSALM CV. 

The. composer treats of a time when there were very few men, and 
when they went from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to 
another ; thus showing she strove to make her subjects believe a time 
was known when but few men existed, when she knew of many nations 
and kingdoms, kings were reproved by the lord, she states, and said 
touch not mine anointed, and called a famine, and broke the whole 
staff of bread ; Joshua's feet, she states, were in irons ; the king loosed 
him. abraham, alias abram, and the lord's oath to isaac, are treated of. 
also god's servant, moses the murderer, and his brother that was deco- 
rated with short holy breeches, and an embroidered robe hung round 
with bells of gold, that his sound might be heard when he came into the 
holy place, to minister to the lord : all stated to be commanded by the 
lord, several other characters that have been treated of in the books of 
moses are also referred to, their actions also showing plain as need be that 
one person of disordered imagination fabricated all those fables. 

PSALM CVI. 

The composer revives her fable of people passing through the red sea, 
and appears to have forgotten part of her first story, as that she states 
the waters stood up like two walls, and one nation passed through its 
midst on dry ground, the present story represents that sea to have 
dried up for the accommodation of one nation, and the waters covered 
the other ; aaron, the saint of the lord, and his murdering brother moses ; 
the molten calf, for the formation of which people were deprived of their 
gold jewels by these two cunning priests, according to elizabeth's wild 
fancy, who here states god said it would destroy people, had not moses 
his chosen stood before him in the breach to turn away its wrath, repe- 
tition is made of former plague stories, and a man staying a plague, and 
of a nation being given into the hands of heathens ; the chapter being 
principally repetitions of former parts of the works, showing nothing 
more than the composer's wild imaginings frequently returned. 

PSALM cvn. 

C»>ntains a reference to the fable of a nation wandering in a wilder- 
ness, as stated in that part of the work called the book of moses. 

PSALM CVIII. 
Repetition is made that god says moab is its wash-pot, and that it will 



214 REVIEW OF 

cast out its shoe over edom. this is strong circumstantial proof that the 
composer was an inebriate. 

PSALM CIX. 

King david commands god not to hold its peace, which drunkard-like 
story hath been previously stated in a former psalm, the fabled psalmist 
also requires god to let another man's days be few, and let his children 
be fatherless, and his wife be a widow, and let their children be begging 
vagabonds, and let the extortioner catch all that he hath ; let there be 
none to extend mercy to him. had the composer been sober, she would 
probably have first cut off mercy before^taking the man's life : but she 
continues exhibiting disordered imagination, and states the man after 
god's heart says, neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children, 
let his posterity be cut off, and let the name of the following generation 
be blotted out. let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered of the 
lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out ; let this be the re- 
ward of mine adversary, for I am poor and needy, some of the above 
hath been previously inserted in the work called the holy bible, and 
much more similar composition is in this chapter and many others, this 
one shows the composer's mind was lumbered with the same imaginings 
as when she fabricated that part of her work under the title of the books 
of moses, (see twentieth of exodus,) where she states god said it would 
visit the sins of fathers to the fourth generation. 

PSALM ex. 

The composer states the lord hath sworn and will not repent, thou 
art a priest after the order of melchizedek. the lord shall judge among 
the heathen ; he shall fill places with dead bodies ; he shall wound the 
heads over many countries ; he shall drink of the brook in the way ; 
which story doth about plainly say the composer was not sober on the 
day she fabricated this fable. 

PSALM CXL 

The murderer david declares he will praise the lord with his whole 
heart in the congregation, this shows the composer knew praying peo- 
ple preferred to have their prayers made known to many hearers. 

PSALM cxn. 

The composer allows the fearful to possess wealth. 



PSALMS. 315 

PSALM CXIII. 



The childless queen treats of barren women, and requires her sub- 
jects to praise her lord all day. 



PSALM CXIV. 

It is stated mountains skipped like rams, and little hills like lambs, 
and the sea saw it and fled ; and reference is made of a flint rock turning 
to water. 

PSALM CXV. 

Wherefore should the heathen say, where is their god ? and the 
composer informs her subjects that idols of gold have mouths, but speak 
not ; and eyes, but they see not ; feet, but they walk not ; which looks 
as though she was so much overpowered with inspiring stimulus as to 
suppose gold and silver idols were not known to be inanimate, the dead, 
and those who go down into silence, do not praise the lord. 

PSALM CXVL 

The composer allows that her lord preserveth the simple. 

PSALM CXVIL 

Praise ye the lord, praise ye the lord, is the theme of this psalm. 

PSALM cxyin. 

Is composed of the same theme, with the word lord inserted twenty- 
four times; the composer, beyond doubt, knowing" from experience 
that free and bold use of that word caused weak-minded, credulous per- 
sons to be struck with awe, by which means they could be held tribu- 
tary to rulers and their aids, the priests. 

PSALM CXIX. 

David tells his lord that he hath rejoiced in its testimonies, as well 
as in riches, and commands it to remove reproach from him, and de- 
clares he hath kept its testimonies ; and tells his lord that he declared 
his ways, and that it heard him. again the fabled david requires his 
lord to turn reproach froni him, and promises to speak of his lord's tes- 
timonies before kings, and to lift up his hands, in fifty-second verse 



216 REVIEW OF 

the composer states this hero declared he was comforted ; in next verse 
she allows him to say horror hath taken hold of him. at midnight 
david says he will rise to give thanks, and tells his lord it had dealt 
well with him. he also tells his supposed invisible lord that the proud 
have forged a lie against him, and that their heart is as fat as grease ; 
but the law of his god was above thousands of gold and silver, the 
composer must have known that, laws enacted under hereditary mon- 
archies had brought under her control thousands of gold and silver, 
david tells his supposed lord that he is like a bottle in smoke, and hath 
more understanding than all his teachers, and hath refrained from evil, 
the composer showeth she had forgot all the cruel murders and adul- 
teries she hath attributed to the hero of the psalms, and she represents 
this hero as having found a soul belonging to him in his hand, verse 109, 
and that the lord is his hiding-place, and david comjtnands it to hold 
him up, and repeats the flattery that he loves the lord better than gold, 
and praises it seven times a day, and prevented the dawning of the 
morning, and again directs his lord to plead his cause, numerous are 
the repetitions in this chapter of the fabled david talking to a supposed 
invisible spirit, telling it flattering tales that he kept its testimonies and 
statutes, and that he loved it. 

PSALM CXX.- 

King david says he cried to the lord and it heard him, and that he is 
for peace, but others are for war ; and talks about sharp arrows of the 
almighty, with coals of juniper. 

PSALM CXXL 

In the first verse david says his help cometh from hills, in next 
verse he says his help cometh from the lord. 

PSALM CXXIL 

King david treats of the thrones of the house of david. 

PSALM CXXIII. 

The composer shows that she knew the proud and those who were 
at ease viewed others with contempt. 

PSALM CXXIV. . 

The composer tells her subjects, if the lord had not been on our side, 



PSALMS. 217 

'when men rose up against us, they would have been swallowed up. 
but she always approved of having large, well-equipped armies to pre- 
vent any swallowing up, or riot. 

PSALM CXXV. 

David commands his god to lead people from their crooked ways. 

PSALM CXXVI. 

When the lord lumed the captivity of zion, then our mouths were 
filled with laughter, so states the composer. 

PSALM CXXVII. 

The composer states, except the lord keep the city, the watchman 
wakes in vain, but experience shows monarchs and rulers of cities 
are not willing to trust their royal persons and property to the care of 
imaginary aid for protection, but take special care to have strong, able 
body guards in constant attention, close around both their persons and 
property ; the same attempt at delusion hath been generally practised 
to persuade the subjects of monarchs to be brave in war, that god would 
protect them in their just cause, while their rulers were the cause of 
many thousands slaying each other. 

PSALM CXXVIIL 

The composer states some wives shall be fruitful, this is a subject 
the queen hath treated of from the first chapter of the work she left, and 
hath often shown herself nearly wild, because she had no child. 

PSALM CXXIX. 

Many a time have they afflicted me ; many a time have they afflicted 
me. this style of composition abounds in the bible, sufficiently to tire 
most who attempt to read it, as observation will inform those who 
notice the members of families that have bibles in their houses, but sel- 
dom read them, although they may strictly attend church. 

PSALM CXXX. 

The composer aims to make it appear that her hero david cried to a 
supposed invisible spirit. 

PSALM cx:s:xL 

The composer tells her imaginary invisible spirit that her heart is not 

15 



218 REVIEW OF 

haughty, and that she does not exercise herself in things too high for 
her, and that she hath behaved and quieted herself, as a weaned child, 
but the bible she left doth in numerous instances plainly show that she 
exerted herself to make her subjects believe that as holy truth which 
she did not know had existence ; which attempt, it appears, she did 
not keep herself from, but exercised, after commencing the fiction, 
as long as she was able, leaving the sprig of royalty she made 
choice of to succeed her to publish it, as acknowledged in the bible pre- 
face that he did so, and was the principal mover of the work queen 
elizabeth, his predecessor, left ; and those who introduce the work when 
it was first printed in 1539, tell the young monarch works of the sort 
meet with censure, and humbly crave his patronage and protection. 

PSALM CXXXIL 

The hero of the psalms tells his lord to remember how he sware 
unto it, and tells it, surely he will not go to bed, nor give sleep to his 
eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, until he finds out a habitation for it, 
and tells it to arise and let its priests be clothed, and it is stated the 
invisible spirit tells this murdering david it will clothe his enemies 
with shame, that his crown shall flourish, thus a sprig of royalty be- 
stows incredible honors on one of her fabled kings. 

PSALM CXXXIIL 

• -Repetition is made of a part of the fable previously stated, about pre- 
cious ointment that ran down aaron's beard and the skirts of his gar- 
ments, even as the dew. surely the composer must have written each 
time about this greasy fable under the inspiration of wine ; for she hath 
represented this fabled priest as being bedecked with an embroidered 
coat, short, holy linen breeches, bonnet, and mitre topped off with an 
embroidered robe hung around with gold bells ; all stated by the impu- 
dent composer to have been commanded by her imaginary lord, that 
aaron's sound might be heard when he comes into the holy place to 
minister unto it ; setting out the most flagrant encouragement of folly 
and deception in a book, called the word of the lord by some who live 
by preaching from the few decent parts of it. 

PSALM CXXXIV. 

People are directed to lift up their hands. 



PSALMS. 219 

PSALM CXXXV. 

The lord, who smote the first-born of both man and beast, hath chosen 
j acob to himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasurer, such absurd tales, 
in more than a thousand instances, strongly indicate that the composing 
queen could not have been, in suitable condition to have been seen, while 
writing them. 

PSALM CXXXVL 

Contains as wild an inconsistency as any inebriate could imagine to 
write and palm on their fellow-beings as holy truth, thanks are com- 
manded to be given to the composer's imaginary invisible spirit, on 
twenty-six different accounts, by separate commands each time, most 
of which are absurd, and one of them dedicated to the being who smote 
all the first-born of both man and beast. 

PSALM CXXXVIL 

The composer represents that some people sat down by rivers, and ' 
hanged their harps on willows, for others required them to sing a song , 

PSALM CXXXVIIL 

David says, when he cried to the lord it strengthened him ; but ex- 
perience shows moderate living, and exercise in pure air, strengtheneth 
man much more than crying, yet this hero states god will perfect all 
that concerns him, and it is not wonderful the composer should bestow 
such peculiar favors on this fabled murderous king, if she still imagines 
him to be a man after the heart of her god. 

PSALM CXXXIX. 

David tells his supposed lord that it knows every^ word of his tongue 
altogether, and'that it hath beset him behind and before, and asks, where 
shall he flee from its presence .'' such wild questions must be natural 
accompaniments to wild imaginations. 

PSALM CXL. 

David entreats his imaginary lord to let burning coals fall on the 
head of those who compass him about, and to let them be cast into fire, 
this request agrees with the declaration that david is a man after the 



220 REVIEW OP 

r' 

heart of the god who the composer hath been bold enough to try to 
make her subjects believe would cast those into fire who did not believe 
her fabled illegitimate child would save them by its blood being shed, 
atoning to his father, god, or ghost. 

PSALM CXLI. 

The fabled david again requires his fabled god to make haste and give 
ear to his voice. 

PSALM CXLII. 

ii 

David again commands his lord to come down and touch the mount- 
ains, and promises it they shall smoke, which, from all that hath been 
known of such an imaginary spirit, might be promised by every one 
that can speak, and no one's word would be forfeited, or conscience 
smitten on such an account. 

PSALM CXLIII. 

Again the fabled david tells his supposed lord to give ear to him, and 
tells it he stretcheth out his hands to it, and commands it not to hide 
its face. 

PSALM CXLIV. 

David bestows the credit to his lord of teaching his hands to war 
and his fingers to fight, and again commands it to come down and touch 
the mountains, and tells his god he will sing a new song to it on a 
psaltery, an instrument of ten strings ; all of which doth only show, that 
the composing queen did of musical instruments know, and had her 
mind distracted by too much indulgence and voluptuous living, which 
had disordered her imagination. 

PSALM CXLV. 

The composer states the lord is full of compassion, slow to anger, 
and of great mercy, which are over all, and that it is good to all ; but 
in the early part of her work, styled the first book of moses, she ap- 
|)ears to have imagined she knew a god of very different character and 
disposition to the one pictured forth in the above flattering tale, and 
writes a dismal fable of a god that declared it would destroy all that 
sdrew the breath of life, and in the seventh and eighth chapters of that 



PSALMS. 221 

book states it did so. thus in this inconsistent style hath she striven 
both to alarm and soothe the minds of her subjects. 

PSALM CXL7I. 

Man's thoughts perish on the day he returneth to the earth, this 
statement holds forth no false delusion, as man literally, and his parents 
are from the earth ; and it is continually demonstrably shown that all 
breathing beings derive their support from the production of the earthy 
and that not one could be brought forth unless their parents had been 
sustained in same manner, and so on forever, in this world without be- 
ginning and never ending, always rolling on, tides ebbing and flowing^ 
sun and moon appearing and disappearing. 

PSALM CXLVII. 

The composer states the lord delighteth not in the strength of the 
horse, surely this is poor logic, after having stated the same invisible 
made the horse, and that his spirit was an almighty one, as in that 
case it could have made the horse weak enough to have suited its fancy, 

PSALM CXLVm. 

The composer shows she felt much inclined to persuade her subjects 
to submit to a ludicrous course of adoration and praise to a supposed 
spirit, or to make them believe that such a thing was wonderfully ex- 
cellent above all real things. 

PSALM CXLIX. 

The composing queen recommends people to be joyful in their king,^ 
and praise him in their dance, with musical instruments and song let 
the saints sing aloud on their beds, with two-edged sword in hand, no 
sober person would pretend to know such a dashing show. 

PSALM CL. 

Praise god with dance, trumpet, psaltery, harp-stringed timbrel in« 
struments, loud cymbals, and organs, praise, the composer recommends, 
in hundreds of instances, to some invisible spirit that she strives to 
make her subjects believe hath all control over them but when she sets 
about to enforce any measure, dependant on them, requires large 
numbers. 



222 REVIEW OF 

PROVERBS: CHAPTER I. 

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law 

of thy mother. 

CHAPTER 11. 

My son, if thou wilt, receive and hide my commandments with thee, 
thou shalt understand the fear of the lord. 

CHAPTER in. 
Forget not my law, but keep my commandments. 

CHAPTER IV. 
Hear the instruction of a father. 

CHAPTER V. 
My son, attend to my wisdom. 

CHAPTER VI. 
My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, make sure thy friend. 

CHAPTER VII. 
My son, keep my words and commandments. 

CHARTER VIIL 

This writer doth say, the lord possessed me in the beginning of his 
way|before his works of old. 

CHAPTER IX. ' 
A foolish woman is simple, and knoweth nothing. 

CHAPTER X. 
He that winketh with his eye causeth sorrow. 

CHAPTER XI. 
An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbor. 

CHAPTER Xn. 
A slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting. 

CHAPTER XIII. 
He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life. 



PROVERBS. \ 223 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The simple believe every word ; the simple and prudent are both 
twice treated of. 

CHAPTER XV. 

He that hateth gifts shall live 

CHAPTER XVI.- 

The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, 
is from the lord ! according to this statement of the said-to-be holy 
scriptures, man is not a free agent to answer or act for himself. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold. 

CHAPTER XVni. 

Those who find a wife, find a good thins:, solomon had seven hun- 
dred such good things, and three hundred concubines also. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Verse 5, a false witness shall not be unpunished, the kings wrath is 
as the roaring of a lion 

CHAPTER XX. 

The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion, a king sitting in the 
throne of judgment scattereth all evil away with his eyes, so the 
queen strives to make kings appear a great prize. 

CHAPTER XXL ; 

It is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top than with a brawl- 
ing woman in a wide house ; the composer states the king's heart is in 
the hand of the lord, but experience hath taught man that kings gen- 
erally have hearts to oppress their subjects according to the armies 
they have at command, to enable them to do so. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The composer states, by humility and fear are riches and hojior of 
life ; others say, a faint heart never wins a fair lady, and without ven- 
turing boldly but little can be obtained ; v. 13, the slothful man says, 



224 REVIEW OF 

there is a lion in the street^ i shall be slain ; so this fearful person could 
not get a rag into his bag 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider what is before thee ; 
and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man of appetite ! and desire 
not the ruler's dainties, and labor not to be rich ; be not among wine- 
bibbers or riotous eaters ; look not on wine when it moveth aright, 
"when it giveth color, this advice appears to have been given by a ru- 
ler living voluptuously, who was unwilling[others should live as well or 
become rich, and who had been too much of a wine- bibber herself to 
compose with reason. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

My son, eat honey because it is good, and the honey-comb because it 
is sweet to thy taste, and thy expectation shall not be cut off; fear the 
lord and the king, thus hath the queen blended kings, lords, dukes, 
and princes, in numerous instances through the work she left. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

The glory of god is to conceal, and honor to a king is to search out, 
and the hearts of kings is unsearchable ; so writes the queen, who treats 
of gold rings ; a prince, she states, is persuaded by long forbearance, 
repetition is made about a brawling woman and house-top, and large house. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Repetition is made about the slothful man saying there is a lion in 
the street, and about his turning on his bed, and the door on hinges, &c. 
according to the two last verses, it is best to be slothful, as it is stated 
in them that he who diggeth a pit, shall fall therein, and he that roll- 
eth a stone it will return on him. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

The well-known fact is recorded that stone is heavy and sand 
weighty, and that the full soul loatheth honey-comb, here the word 
soul is referred to as being a well-fed body, which is generally the case 
where that word is used in the bible ; it refers to the well known sub- 
stance of the body, and not to anything imaginary ! repetition is made 
about taking pledge of a strange woman ; and in genesis, ch. xxxviii., a 



ECCLESIASTES, 225 

woman took a pledge of the good man judah, and although he had 
promised to give her his son, he did not know her, as she hid her face 
with a veil. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The prince that lacketh understanding is also a great oppressor, 
where hereditary monarchs rule, and have large armies supported by 
extortions from the rest of their subjects, much more is generally exact- 
ed to pay the extravagances of such rulers and their hosts of attendants. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be estab- 
lished forever ! probably the queen's whim of the moment was, that 
she thought her father or herself ought to reign forever. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

An interrogatory is put to know who gathered the wind in his fists': 
four things are specified as never being satisfied, the queen composer 
possessed the one most noted. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

King lemuel's words ; a prophecy that king lemuel's mother taught 
him ; she tells him not to give his strength away ; and his mamma also 
tells him it is not for kings to drink wine- by this it appears as though 
queen elizabeth thought that both king henry the eighth, her father, and 
self would have led a better life had they drank less ! give wine, she 
states to those who are of heavy heart. 

ECCLESIASTES : CHAPTER I. 

Generations pass away, but the earth abideth forever, and the wind 
whirleth and returneth, and rivers ebb and flow ; all things are in motion, 
and there is no new thing, these statements man hath constant demons- 
trable proof of, and they are a part of the few truths contained in the work. 

CHAPTER II. 

A man states that he made great works : he built houses, and planted 
vineyards, gardens, orchards, and all kind of fruits, and made pools of 
water, and got him servants and maidens, and had servants born in his 



226 REVIEW OF 

/ 

house, and had more cattle than any one of his neighbors, and silver and 
gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings, this fable indicates that its 
composer also wrote the fable of abraham, alias abram,who, it hath been 
stated, was so nobly fated to have a peculiar fair wife, and that he 
traveled with her, under the pretence that they were brother and sister, 
into the presence of two rich kings, who gave him great abundance of 
servants, cattle, and gold, so that he afterward lived in such style, and 
in such a monstrous house, as to have three hundred and eighteen ser- 
vants, all trained for war that were born in his house. 

CHAPTER III. 

It is stated there is no good, but for a man to do good in his life ; this 
appears as one honest confession, thus far it is stated that that which 
befalleth men befalleth other animate beings, that all die alike ; they all 
have one breath, and man hath no pre-eminence ; all go to one place, all 
are from the dust, and all return to the dust, and there is nothing better 
than that a man should rejoice in his own works ; for who shall bring 
him to see what shall come after him, and who knoweth of the spirit 
of man or of beast, whether they go up or down. 

CHAPTER IV. 

It is stated that it is vanity to bereave the soul from good by labor, 
showing, as previously, that the substance of the body which would be- 
come wearied with labor was considered the only soul. 

CHAPTER V. 

The abundance of the rich will not allow sleep, and beyond reason- 
able doubt, the composer of the fable had often experienced this diffi- 
culty. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Statement is again made about great abundance not being enjoyed, 
and lack of appetite of the rich, and what hath the wise more than the 
fool, all appearing as though the composer was cloyed with riches, learn- 
ing, and sumptuous living. 

CHAPTER VII. 

It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feast 
ing ; this also looks as though the composer felt sick of feasting. 



I Solomon's song. 227 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The queen blends king and god in this fable, counseling people to 
keep the king's commandment in regard to god's oath ; and adds, where 
the word of a king is, there is power, and who may say unto him, what 
doest thou ! an impression must have been naturally made of this kind 
on the mind of elizabeth when her father henry the eighth had the 
beautiful and amiable anne bolyn, her mother, beheaded, because he 
fancied another. 

CHAPTER IX. 

States there is one event to all, and the dead know nothing, neither 
have they any reward, this appears like an honest confession founded 
on conviction, for there is not knowledge in the grave ; a great king, it 
is stated, besieged a little city, surely he was a great robber, but to 
make the fable romantic, it is stated a poor man delivered the city. 

CHAPTER X. 

Dead flies cause apothecaries' ointment to send forth a bad smell, a 
wise man's heart is at his rio-ht hand, a fool's at his left : sure anatomists 
would find the heart of all on the same side, servants have been seen 
on horses, princes walking as servants ; this all must have doubt about, 
blessed is the land that hath a noble's son for king, such stories, surely, 
could only have proceeded from the mind of one who had lived in a 
noble manner, and probably was in expectation of a throne. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Because the preacher was wise, he taught people knowledge, he 
sought to find out acceptable words, as long as the bible or testament 
are preached as being sacred and holy, the principal search of preachers 
must be to select moral sentences, and avoid rudeness, inconsistency, 
and folly. 

SOLOMON'S SONG : CHAPTER I. 

The song of songs, which is Solomon's ; the composer in this com- 
mencement evidently shows she felt doubt of her rudeness being receiv- 
ed by her subjects for what she pretended it was ; for she begins in a 
style showing the composition to be made by a female addicted to pleas- 
ure and levity ; to wit, let him kiss me with the kisses of this mouth ; 
and although elizabeth bore the reputation of being fond of wine, she 



228 REVIEW OF 



allows that the love of this imaginary king were better than wine ; and 
says the king hath brought her into his chamber, and says a bundle of 
myrrh is her beloved unto her. he shall lie all night between my 
breasts ; and considerable many more amorous expressions are stated. 



CHAPTER II. 

The composer states her beloved brought her to the banqueting, 
house, and his banner over her was love ; his left hand is under her 
head, and he embraced her with his right ; and states he told her to 
rise, telling her the flowers appear, and birds are heard. 

CHAPTER III. 

The composer acknowledges that she sought on her bed for him she 
loved, and found him not ; and says she will arise and seek after him, 
and that she found him, and held him until she brought him to a cham- 
ber in her mother's house, behold his bed, she stales, which is Solomon's ; 
sixty valiant men are about it, sword in hand, expert warriors, and the 
composer gives evidence of distracted mind in this wild part of her fable 
about swords, as she states the men had their swords on their thighs, 
and also states they held them ; and slates king solomon made him a 
chariot with pillars of silver, with bottom of gold, the midst paved with 
love, and his mother crowned him on the day of his espousal. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Awake ye winds, and blow on my garden, let my beloved come into 
his garden and eat pleasant fruit, this appears as though the queen, in 
her romantic ideas, wished she had such a companion as her enthusias- 
tic imagination portrayed to her mind. 

CHAPTER V. 

I sleep,"but my heart waketh ; it is the voice of my beloved, saying, 
open to me my love, I have put off my coat, and washed my feet. I 
rose up to open,butmy beloved was gone ; I called, but got no answer ; 
my beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand, his 
locks are bushy and black, his legs as pillars of marble, his mouth is 
most sweet, yea, he is altogether lovely ; this is my beloved, and this is 
my friend, the reader may probably know, and if he does not, history 
will inform him so, that the queen who left the writings which form 
the bible and testament never had a husband, but she had a handsome 



ISAIAH. 229 

friend and companion in the earl of essex, who the ministers of the 
british government chose to have beheaded, rather than he should reign 
"with elizabeth. 

CHAPTER Vr. 

Whither is thy beloved gone, thou fairest among women ; my belov- 
ed is gone to his garden. I am my beloved's, and he is mine ; return, 
return, that we may look upon thee. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. come, my beloved, 
let us go forth to the field, and let us lodge in the villages, let us get 
up early to the vineyards, there will I give thee my loves ; I have laid 
up all manner of pleasant fruits for thee, my beloved. 

CHAPTER Vin. 

Oh that thou were as my brother ; when I should find thee, I would 
kiss thee, and should not be despised ; and I would bring thee unto my 
mother's house ; set rae as a seal on thy heart ; many waters cannot 
quench love, neither can floods drown it. all know that floods destroy 
all power of love from inhabitants of the earth when they are over- 
whelmed with water, but some allowance need be made for the theatri- 
cal style of expression of a queen, or any one that had indulged them- 
selves in visiting theatres, the queen insinuates that when her breasts 
were like towers, then she found favor in her lover's eyes, and states, 
Solomon had a vineyard ; and says to him, make haste, my beloved, and 
be like a roe, or a young hart, surely such levity, to be palmed on 
mankind as the word of a universal creator, or as that of any invisible 
spirit, or as having been written by men inspired by such a supposed 
spirit, must soon be discountenanced in this age of science and improve- 
ment ; and the only way it can be satisfactorily accounted for how it 
ever deluded man is, that a large portion of people could not read when it 
was introduced, and kings combined with priests to enforce observance 
and respect for it by means of wealth, and gained victory over those who 
would not examine for themselves. 

ISAIAH: CHAPTER I. 

The queen appears to be conscious that she hath made by far too 
many statements about sacrifices, as she states the lord says, to what 
purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me ; I am full of the 



230 REVIEW or 

burnt-of!erings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts ; I delight not in the 
blood of bullocks, lambs, or he-goats, who hath required this at your 
hands ? bring no more vain oblations to me, your appointed feasts are 
a trouble to me, and I will hide mine eyes when you spread forth your 
hands, thus it appears the queen, in an hour of soberness, had consider- 
ed spreading forth hands and offering sacrifices were useless. 

CHAPTER II. 

The queen appears to have been somewhat distracted with profusion 

of wealth, and treats of land being full of silver and gold, and having 

treasures without measure, and being full of horses, and having chariots 

without end ; and treats of men casting silver and gold to moles and 

bats. 

•CHAPTER III. 

The queen attributes to her imaginary invisible spirit, who she hath 
assumed to know was full of loving kindness, taking away from a nation 
the stay and staff of bread and water, also, the mighty man the 
prophet, the prudent, and the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the hon- 
orable man, the counselors, the cunning artificer, and the eloquent 
orator ; and that it says people shall be oppressed every one by another, 
and ever}^ one by his neighbor, moreover, the queen states her lord 
says, the daughters of zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth 
necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, making a tink- 
ling with their feet ; therefore the lord will smite with a scab the crown 
of their head, and discover their secret parts, and take away their tink- 
ling ornaments, the chains, bracelets, mufflers, bonnets, leg-ornaments, 
head-bands, tablets, ear-rings, nose jewels, the changeable suits of appa- 
rel, mantles, wimples, crisping-pins, the glasses, the fine linen, hoods, 
vails ; and instead of sweet smell there shall be stink, and instead of a 
girdle a rent, and baldness instead of well-set hair, and instead of a 
stomacher, a girding of sackcloth, and burning instead of beauty, thus 
the queen hath shown a vast variety of superfluous articles to her were 
known, and that she must have been under the inspiration of strong 
drink, to have been bold enough to have treated of them as being spoken 
of by an invisible spirit, she surely must have considered her subjects 
simple, credulous, deluded beings. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The queen again shows she considered celibacy a subject of reproach, 



ISAIAH. 231 

and states seven women shall take hold of one man and say to him, they 
will eat their own bread and wear their own apparel, only let them be 
called by thy name, to take away our reproach. 

CHAPTER V. 

The queen states her beloved planted a vineyard with the choicest 
vines, and made a wine-press, she says, wo unto them that join house 
to house, surely people in cities have not dreaded this part of the 
fabled word of the lord, she treats again of musical instruments and wine. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The queen states king uriah died, and in that year she also saw the 
lord sitting on a throne, the fair reference to be drawn from this state- 
ment is, that the queen endeavors to make her subjects believe she saw 
this fabled king die, and a lord on a throne, and the great probability 
is, that she knew of one throne, and called it her own. she shows 
herself extremely wild in this fable, and states, above the lord stood 
seraphims : one had six wings, with twain it covered its face, and with ' 
twain it covered its feet, and with twain it did fly, and one cried unto 
another, holy, holy, holy is the lord of hosts ! and the posts of the 
door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled 
with smoke, surely the compot^er must have been strongly inspired 
with wine to have caused her to imagine so wildly, she states one of 
the seraphims flew to her hero isaiah, having a live coal in his hand, 
which it hath taken with the tongs, and laid it on isaiah's mouth, thus 
blending earthly articles with imaginary invisible spirits, the lord, it is 
stated, asked who it should send, and who would go ; and that sam 
said, here am i ! send me ! and it said, go and make the heart of peo- 
ple fat, and their ears heavy, lest they see with their eyes, and hear 
with their ears, and understand, here the queen manifestly doth show 
that she did wish her subjects should nothing but labor know, the 
fabled prophet asks the lord how long ! it tells him until the cities be 
wasted without an inhabitant, and the land be utterly desolate, and the 
houses without man. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

It is stated the lord told this fabled prophet to meet a king's son at 
the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's 
field, and tell him not to be faint-hearted for the tails of smoking fire- 



232 REVIETf OF 

brands, let us go against judah, and make a breach in it, and set a 
king therein, the virgin queen states the lord shall give a sign by a 
virgin bearing a son, which prophecy she remembered to state "vras ful- 
filled in a later part of her v^ork, under the title of her fabled saint 
matthew, in the first chapter, making use of the same style of levity 
in the last verse of that chapter that she hath often done in the part of 
her work under the titles of her fabled prophets, in the said-to-be holy 
bible, she states, the lord shall hiss for the fly and the bee, and on the 
same day shall shave with a hired razor, this is evidently as wild a 
fable as any inebriate could fabricate, after having attributed to the same 
fabled spirit the skill and power to create all things in six days, to pre- 
tend such an incredible almighty spirit had suddenly become so poor 
that it was under the necessity of hiring a razor to shave with, head 
and feet, she states, are to be shaven, and the beard to be consumed. 

CHAPTER VIIT. 

It is stated the lord tells this fabled prophet to write in a great roll 
with a man's pen ; and he went unto a prophetess, and she conceived, 
and bare a son, and the lord told sam what name to call it, and com- 
manded people to associate themselves, telling them they shall be 
broken in pieces, surely the composer shows lack of sober reflection. 

CHAPTER IX. 

It is stated the zeal of the lord will cause no end to the throne of da- 
vid, and will establish it with justice forever ; and the composer states, 
therefore the lord shall set up adversaries and prophecies that it will 
cut off from Israel, head, tail, branch and root, ancient and honorable, in 
one day. therefore she does not allow her fabled lord to have joy in 
young men, nor mercy on the fatherless or widows, and strives to fright- 
en her subjects with stating to them that through the wrath of the 
lord, the land is darkened, and people shall be as fuel, and that no man 
shall spare his brother, which story shows the cruel-minded, unrelent- 
ing monarch had the same kind of disordered imaginings ruminating 
in her mind as she exercised while writing the third chapter of this book 
wherein she states every neighbor and brother shall oppress each other, 
she states every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm. 

CHAPTER X. 
The queen treats of fabled kings in ludicrous style, and tells her sub- 



ISAIAH. 233 

jects the lord shall send among its fat ones leanness, and shall kindle a 
burning-like fire, and his holy one for a flanae ; and it shall burn, devour, 
and consume the glory of his forest and fruitful field, both soul and body, 
in one day. this does not correspond with the fable in matthew and 
other parts of her new testament, where she recommends her subjects 
to cast away one eye, one hand, and one foot, and enter into the king- 
dom of god thus maimed, halt and blind, rather than their w^hole body 
should be cast into hell, where she states the fire is never quenched 
and the sufferer doth not die. 

CHAPTER XL 

The queen assumes to prophecy that the wolf shall dwell with the 
lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calf, fatling 
and lion together, and a little child shall lead them ; and the cow and 
bear shall feed together, and their young lie together. The queen prob- 
ably formed these ideas from seeing her keeper of wild beasts in the 
tower of london hold those animals in perfect control. 

CHAPTER Xn. 

The queen directs her subjects to say, o lord, i will praise thee, though 
thou wast angry with me. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

The queen appears to have been in a spirit for war, and states the 
lord mustereth the host of the battle, and that they come from the end of 
heaven, even the lord and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the 
■whole land ; and all hearts shall melt, they shall be in pain as a woman 
that travaileth : this term the virgin queen often treats of in many parts 
of the work she left, she strives also to alarm her subjects, and fill 
their minds with dread, by boldly declaring the day of the lord cometh 
with cruel, fierce anger, to destroy and lay the land desolate ; and that it 
will make a man more precious than fine gold, even than the golden 
wedge of ophir, in the day of its fierce anger, surely the composer 
must have been too strongly inspired with wine that hath caused her 
to lose recollection of the character she bestowed on her lord in the 
books of moses, that it was fall of mercy and loving-kindness ; she states 
every one that is found shall be thrust through ! their children shall be 
dashed to pieces before their eyes ! their houses shall be spoiled and 
their wives ravished, this cruel, terrifying composer must have been in- 
toxicated and somewhat insane, to fabricate such improbable fables. 

16 



234 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The queen asks lucifer how he hath fallen from heaven, and styles 
him son of the morning, and tells it that it said in its heart i will as- 
cend into heaven ! i will exalt my throne above the stars of god ! i will 
be like the most high, the queen appears to show that she fancied 
jshe was holding conversation with an imaginary devil ; telling it, who 
shall say, is this the man that made the earth to tremble ! that did shake 
kingdoms ; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities 
thereof; and tells it, it hath been cast out of its grave, as the raiment of 
those that are slain and thrust through, fabled kings, chiefs, fiery fly- 
ing serpents, and slaughters are treated of, which have been favorite 
topics with the queen from the beginning of genesis to the end of reve- 
lations, coupled with other imaginary prodigies calculated to make her 
work puzzling and marvellous. 

CHAPTER XV. 

The queen shows that her imagination of the moment was ridicu- 
lously wild, and states moab shall howl, and on all heads shall be bald- 
ness, and every beard shall be cut off. had it been as fashionable in 
her day for men to have worn as much beard as they do at the present 
period, many active clippers would have found something to do. she 
states people shall gird themselves in the streets, and on the tops of 
houses with sackcloth, and every one shall howl and weep abundantly, 
surely her whim of the moment must have been a desire to have every 
one but crowned heads and their attendants perfectly humbled. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The queen commands that a lamb be sent to the ruler of the land ; and 
says the throne shall be established, this is the word that the lord spake. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Woe to people who make noise, surely the queen was determined 
to have people both quiet as well as humble. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Woe to the land shadowing with wings, that sendeth ambassadors by 
sea in vessels of bullrushes. the composer must have been intoxicated 
or insane, to have been willing to have written so mildly, and left it for the 
successor of her choice to publish; and the greater part of her work indi- 
cates, in the strongest and clearest manner, that she indulged herself with 
profusion of stimulating drink during the period she devoted to writing it. 



ISAIAH. 235 

CHAPTER XIX. 
The queen states the lord rideth on a swift cloud, and it shall come 
into egypt, and set the egyptians against the egyptians, and every one 
shall fight against his brother and neighbor, and the heart of egypt shalj 
melt ; and the lord will give the egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord, 
and a fierce king shall rule them, saith the lord ; and the waters shall fail 
from the sea. surely such composition doth afford the clearest evidence 
that the composer of it wrote under the inspiration of strong drink. 

CHAPTER XX. 

The queen states, the lord told isaiah to loose the sackcloth from his 
loins, and put off his shoe, the fabled isaiah says, he did so walking 
naked and barefooted ; and the lord said, like as his servant isaiah walked 
naked and barefooted three years (in egypt and ethiopia), so shall the 
king of assyria lead the egyptians and ethiopians captives, young and 
old, naked and barefooted, with their buttocks uncovered, and they shall 
be ashamed, here it is plain to be seen that the composing queen was 
in too droll and merry a mood to bestow the credit of fair treatment on 
her lord towards its fabled naked and barefooted servant ; for she states 
the lord knew its servant was exposed in this shameful manner 3 years, 
and that it did not lend him any relief, which is bad logic in the queen, 
to pretend that the one and the same spirit was full of kindness, and yet 
to let its prophet and servant suffer the same discomfort so long. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

This fabled prophet tells princes to arise, eat and drink, and anoint the 
shield, for the lord had told him to set a watchm n, and let him declare 
what he seeth. the fabled watchman says he saw^ a chariot of asses 
and a chariot of camals, and he cried, a lion, my lord, oh my threshing- 
floor and corn. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The burden of the valley of vision, a day of perplexity by the lord in 
the vallej'' of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the 
mountains, surely the queen had partaken too freely from her wine 
fountains, she w^rites, it shall come to pass that choice valleys shall be 
full of chariots ; but her subjects it is by no means likelj'' found chariots 
so plenty as she'did, nor wine, which she records fond recollection of 
in most parts of the work she left termed the holy bible, the composer 
writes, in that day the lord will call to baldness, and to girding with 
sackcloth, and adds, behold slaying oxen and sheep, eating flesh and 
drinking wine. 



336 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Howl, ye ships of tarshish ; be still, inhabitants of the isle ; bo thou 
ashamed, o zidon,for the sea hath spoken, saying, I travail not, nor bring 
forth children, this was the case with the queen of the fable, who slates 
she does not nourish up young nien, nor bring up virgins, and repeats, 
howl, ye ships of tarshish; and tyre, she stales, shall sing as an harlot, 
which character she often treats of in her said-to-be holy bible, and 
now commands that the harlot go about the cit}'^ making sweet melody 
with harp, that she may be remembered ; and adds, her merchandise and 
hire shall not be laid up, it shall be for food and durable clothing ; it 
shall be for them that dwell before the lord ; it shall be holiness to the 
lord. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Behold, the lord maketh the earth empty, had this ever been the 
case, no one could have told the tale so frail ; but the queen assumes to 
know it shall be so, and states the land shall be utterly emptied and 
spoiled, for the lord hath said so ; and those whq do suppose the bible 
through every line to be sacred and divine, will find it not so true as the 
song of dandy jim of Caroline, whose master told him he was the most 
handsome nigger of Caroline ; he says he looked in the glass and he found 
it so. but let those who advocate the bible as true and useful, look in 
the book and they will not find it so ; and most of those who praise it 
but seldom read in it, and probably have never read the whole, this is 
the case with most of its advocates, excepting those who are interested 
in pecuniary point of view to make the most favorable exposition of it 
their ingenuity enables them to do. the curse hath devoured the earth, 
the queen of the fables states ; the tnirth of tabrets ceaseth ; strong drink 
shall be bitter to them that drink it; they shall not drink wine, this 
looks as though the queen of the fable felt like the dog in the manger, 
who would not let the cow eat hay, though he could not eat it. and as 
she had said the new wine mourneth, it appears she did not feel able to 
drink any at that time, yet she coveted the good article too much to be 
willing to let others drink it. there is a crying for wine in the streets, 
she states, and the earth is clean dissolved, surely this adds to the 
numerous proofs that the queen of the bible seldom composed any of the 
fables contained in that book except when she was under inspiration of 
wine, which she in this fable expresses herself unwilling should be par- 
taken of by others, and had she been sober, surely she would not have 



ISAIAH. 237 

tried to terrify her subjects with declaring the earth was devoured, and 
afterward treat of streets. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

The queen of the bible tells her lord she will exalt it, for it had 
made a city an heap of ruin ! and says it shall never be built ! there- 
fore shall people glorify thee, the city of the terrible ; and tells her lord 
it shall make a feast of fat things to all people, is not wonderful 
that the queen should imagine this to be needed, afer she had imagined 
such incredible numbers of the firstlings of flocks and herds had been 
sanctified unto it in addition to the many thousand animals she allow- 
ed to be her lord's portion, that the army of the lord's servant moses 
the murderer had taken from the slain midianites. the queen of the fa- 
ble states the lord shall spread forth its hands as he that swims. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

The queen commands a song to be suns;, and tells her lord that other 
lords have dominion over people, and flatters her lord with telling it 
the other lords are dead ! continuing the same style of doubly defining 
her story as she hath through her books of moses, adding to the word 
of information dead ; dreadeth like a woman with child, that draweth near 
the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs, so she 
tells her lord people have been in its sight ! we have been with child, 
we have been in pain ! and adds, dead men shall live, and shall rise 
with her dead body, women being with child, and some being nearly 
wild because they had no child, is often treated of by the virgin queen 
elizabeth in the bible she left, 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

The queen states the lord will punish leviathan with his sore and great 
strong sword ! and slay the dragon that is in the sea; and treats of sing- 
ing, of red wine, and a great trumpet. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Wine and drunkenness are treated of ; diadems, crowns, priests,tables, 
and strong drink, and many other realities and imaginary ones also. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Woe to the city where david dwelt, the queen of the fable states, i 



238 REVIEW OF 

•will camp round thee, and lay siege against thee ; stay yourselves, and 
cry, they are drunken, but not with wine ; they stagger, but not with 
strong drink ; and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, this 
beyond doubt the queen of the bible knew was the case in the city of 
london, where she wrote the book, that there were vast numbers of 
unlearned people ; and it is now known that bibles are delivered among 
the unlearned, that plan answering the purpose best to keep the book 
in some respect, while such people could hear discourses from the few 
reasonable parts of it, without knowing any of its innumerable incon- 
sistencies, the queen of the fable states, the meek shall increase their 
joy in the lord ; she of course preferred to have her subjects meekly to 
submit to the grievous taxations imposed on them by herself and her 
aids, without more outbreaks, the fear of which appears to have dis- 
tracted her mind, and driven her to form the bible now in use, as its 
principal theme is a pretence that numerous kings, queens, and princes 
had ruled over fabled ancestors in a much more tyrannical manner 
than she did, and that former rulers of the people were also maintained 
in greater grandeur than the government under her control ; all appa- 
rently for the purpose of making her subjects believe she treated them 
more kind than their ancestors had been by their governments, and as 
she did not fully lay down in her bible any doctrine of people living 
eternally in either ecstatic bliss or cruel torment, in a fire that was nev- 
er to be quenched ; she boldly lays the foundation of such in the first 
chapter of her testament, and in that first strives to make her subjects 
believe their bodies would be burnt forever if they did not believe the 
son of a mary was miraculously contrary to her other children, and to 
all born children of other women, but in an hour of sobriety she 
appears to have discerned this impropriety, and contends it as a soul 
that the body cannot find to control, one that is to have such an ever- 
lasting roasting, for the deeds done by thematerial body ; particularly 
if the body with its mind did not believe the story she told in her tes- 
tament respecting her fabled illegitimate child of mary, her first at- 
tempt to frighten her subjects into such a difficult belief, she must of 
course soon consider, in a sober hour, that it would be out of her power 
to frighten her subjects into belief that they might hop into heaven, or 
the kingdom of god, as she states in her testament, with the loss of 
an eye, a hand, and a foot, rather than their whole body should be cast 
into a fire that is never to be quenched, and where the sufferer never 
dies. this|dismal, threatening tale she of course could not impress on 
the minds of her subjects as truth while they had an opportunity of 



ISAIAH. 339 

seeing the bones of their deceased neighbors remained after their flesh 
had incorporated with earth or turned to vegetation ; hence must have 
arose the necessity in her mind of boldly stating bodies of flesh and 
bones, had an invisible appendage that would last forever, which of 
course would fill all space in time, leaving not elbow-room for the phan- 
tom itself. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

The queen states, thus saith the lord, in returning and rest, shall 
ye be saved, but ye said no ! we will flee upon swift horses ; she adds, the 
lord said one thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one, until ye be left 
as an ensign on an hill I moreover, the light of the sun shall be seven- 
fold ! and the name of the lord comes burning with anger, its lips are 
full of indignation, and its tongue as a devouring fire ; the breath of the 
lord, as an overflowing stream doth kindle it ! this shows the queen of the 
fable continued her desire to terrify and confuse the minds of her sub- 
jects, and that she was not in a suitable condition to fabricate any story, 
bordering on probability. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

The queen informs her subjects that men and horses are flesh, and not 
spirit; which appears as though she was so stupefied with exciting 
stimulus, that her whim of the moment was her subjects did not know 
that ever demonstrable fact ! she adds, the lord said something about 
lions roaring. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

The queen states a king shall reign, and princes shall rule, and com- 
mands w^omen to give ear to her speech, because the palaces shall be 
forsaken and the multitude of a city shall be left ; the forts and towers 
shall be dens for wild asses forever ! strip ye, and make ye bare, and 
gird sackcloth on your loins. 

CHAPTER XXXIIL 

Now will i rise, saith the lord, now will i be exalted, now will i lift 
up myself ; your breath shall devour you as fire ! and people shall be as 
the burning of lime, and be burnt as thorns cut up. the first part of 
this fable suggests a query how far the disordered imagination of the 
queen had led her to suppose where her imaginary lord would lift itself 



240 REVIEW OF 

to, when no such being with tongue like a devouring fire, as stated ia 
twenty third chapter of this fabled prophet, can be discerned within 
billions of miles. 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The queen states the indignation of the lord is on all nations, and he 
hath utterly destroyed them, and delivered them to the slaughter, and 
the mountains shall be melted with their blood, for my sword shall be 
bathed in heaven ! the sword of the lord, this cruel monster states, is 
filled with blood ! the lord hath a great slaughter in the land, and the 
land shall be soaked with blood, and become burning pitch ; it shall not 
be quenched night or day ! surely every well-wisher of mankind 
ought to exert themselves to expose this fiction and the whole of the 
work queen elizabeth left. 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

The lame man shall leap as an hart, and the dumb shall sing ! and 
parched ground shall become a pool ! and thirsty land springs of water. 
surely no one hath any reason to believe this fable, as no such unnatu- 
ral occurrences have ever been shown to occur, and no person would 
be willing to write such wild fiction while sober. 

CHAPTER XXXVL 

The king sends an army against all the cities of judah, and he stood 
by the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's field, 
the fabled dead pharaoh is introducedjn this fable ; something is said of 
people trusting in him, and direction is given that the people on the 
wall have the Syrian language popped in their ears ; who are allowed 
the privilege of eating and drinking what had passed through their bod- 
ies, in company with the king's messenger who brought the message, 
the queen of the fable treats of gods, kings, recorders, and a scribe and 
a company of other odd-fellows with their clothes rent. 

CHAPTER XXXVn. 

A king rends his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and honors the house of 
god with his presence, and sent priests dressed in the same fashionable 
style to the fabled prophet isaiah, whose daddy's name is recorded, aking 
of ethiopia and other fabled kings are treated of, and the lord is told to 
incline its ear and open its eyes, and see the words of Sennacherib ! 
the queen states the lord talked about cities, arrows, shields and a bank, 



ISAIAH. 241 

and its servant david. the queen of the fahle also states the angel of 
the lord smote in the camp one hundred and eighty-fiv'^e thousand, and 
when they arose they were all dead ! surely nothing more need be 
said to show that the queen of the fable was not at the time able to 
compose with reason. 

CHAPTER XXXVIIT. 

A man is commanded by the lord to set his house in order, who tells him 
he shall die. the man tells the lord he had done that which was right in 
its sight ; then the lord says it will add fifteen years to this man's days, 
and will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which are gone down 
in the sun-dial ten degrees backward ! so the queen states the sun re- 
turned ten degrees, yet after this special favor, so contrary to nature 
and all well-known organization, this fabled favored man is represent- 
ed as mourning about the cutting of his days, and being deprived of 
the residue of his years and going to the gates of the grave, and of not 
seeing the lord or beholding man any more. 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

A king shows his house of precious things, silver, gold, &c., to the 
messenger of another king ; and they were soon stolen. 

CHAPTEll XL. 

The queen prophecies that every valley shall be exalted, and every 
hill and mountain shall be laid low ! behold, she adds, the nations are 
but a drop of a bucket, and are counted as less than nothins: and vani- 
ty, to whom, then, will ye liken god, or compare him to ? the suitable 
answer to this interrogatory is, according to what the queen of the fable 
hath portrayed her god, that it is immutable, fickle, merciful, cruel, a cre- 
ator, a destroyer, like man in form, size, and likeness, yet with hand 
large enough to hide a man that it had clapt into the cleft of a rock as 
it passed by, only allowing the man to see its hinder parts, and al- 
though it told the man that no man should see its face and live, yet, 
after this statement in the said-to-be holy bible, in same book it is rep- 
resented in numerous instances, this same portrayed invisible talks 
with many men on trifling occasions. 

CHAPTER XLI. 

The queen treats of carpenters, gold-smiths, hammers, nails, anvils!, 



242 REVIEW or 

princes, and war ; and pretends to know that a lord said it would make 
a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth, produce your cause, saith 
the lord ; show your strong reasons ; show ns what shall happen, that 
v}e may consider them, that we may know that ye are god ! here the 
composer manifestly shows distraction of mind. 

CIHAPTER XLII. 

Behold mine elect, he shall not be discouraged : no justification is 
shown for the fabrication of this partiality, and the queen of the fable 
allows that the lord said, i am the lord ! that is my name ! and i will 
not give my glory to another, and the queen of the fable commands 
her subjects to sing a new song to the lord. 

CHAPTER XLIir. 

The queen states the lord told Jacob and israel it hath called them by 
name, and that it claims them as its property, and that it gave egypt, 
ethiopia, and seba for these two men, for they were precious in its sight ; 
therefore it declares it would also give people for their life, which state- 
ment adds to the innumerable proofs already given by the queen in her 
work, that she was generally too strongly inspired with wine to com- 
pose with reason, or to remember that she had attributed to her lord the 
trait of being equitable and just, even through a fable where she be- 
stows on her fabled lord a variety of titles, whom she now states, says, 
i, even i, am the lord, and there is no saviour, this is in verse 1 1 ; and 
in verse 3 it is stated it says, i am thy saviour, in verse 28 it says, i 
have profaned the sanctuary, and given Jacob to the curse and israel to 
reproaches, well might the genius and talents of the illustrious and 
noble philanthropist, thomas Jefferson, after reading the wild fables con- 
tained in both bible and testament, express the sentiments of his belief, 
that in fifty years Christianity would become defunct, and the bible un- 
known in this country except as a curious old book ; and the vast 
improvements in arts and sciences now constantly progressing, are 
sufficient to astonish all the prophets and apostles that ever existed 
from the fabled murderer moses to the well-known miller and joe smith, 
with his chambered female saints and spiritual wives ; and general ed- 
ucation must inevitably aid in putting wild fables out of use, although 
by means of money and the organizing interested missionary forces the 
last struggle may continue a few years. 



ISAIAH. 243 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

The queen again appears to have imagined her lord said that it had 
chosen Jacob and israel, and that it also said one shall say i am the lord's, 
and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another by the 
name of israel, and that it declared i am the first and the last, and be- 
side me there is no god ! such statements do not prove that the com- 
poser of the fable knew of any power higher than herself, or that she 
believed in any such ; but in order to frighten her subjects into belief 
that such a terrible capricious power held constant control over them, 
that this power puts the interrogatory to them, is there a god beside 
me ? and that it declares, yea ! there is no god, i know not any. this 
last sentence appears to be one of the few truths of the impressions of 
the queen's mind, inadvertently or thoughtlessly fallen from her pen. 

CHAPTER XLV. 

The queen states the lord anointed a man, and told him it would go 
before him and break the brass gates, and that the gates should not be 
shut, and it would cut asunder the iron bars, that this man might know 
that it is the lord who calls him by name cyrus. for the sake of its 
elect, Jacob and israel, i am the lord, and there is no god beside me. 
thus it is plain to be seen that the wild composing queen, while feeling 
doubtful of frightening her subjects into belief that such a comical, un- 
natural prodigy existed, considered it necessary to make many bold 
declarations of its power, which she might have done with better 
grace had she kept with temperance only apace. The queen still 
continues striving to amaze and stupefy her subjects, by stating the 
lord said the merchandise of two nations, men of stature, shall come to 
its elect people, who, it is stated in chapter xliii., it had given to the 
curse, and in ch^^pter xlii. it had given to robbers, and it also declares 
according to the queen's pretences, that these nations shall come to its 
elected Jacob and israel in chains, finishing the drunken-like statement 
with, surely god is in thee, and there is none else, there is no god; 
showing that she still considered herself the highest power known, 
in next verse she appears to have considered this acknowledgment of 
her sentiments would not answer so well to humble her subjects, as it 
would not be so likely to depress their spirits ; and states, verily thou 
art a god that hidest thyself, o ! god of israel, the saviour ! and be- 
yond all doubt, her subjects considered it more necessary to try to save 



244 REVIEW OF 

themselves from the clutches of this cruel, unrelenting queen, with all 
her formal pretences of belief in an hidden god, more than they did from 
any such imaginary cruel power, twenty-five insertions are made of 
the words lord and god. additional titles are also bestowed on the 
same supposed invisible, many of them with the bold pretence that it 
gave itself the titles, and that in truly ridiculous style, while treating 
of trifles. 

CHAPTER XLVI. 

The queen for a moment appears to have allowed a sensation of com- 
passion to have engrossed her feelings, and states heavy-laden carriages 
are a burden to wearied beasts, this of course might have happened 
once on a time when she had more lords than was reasonable, riding 
with her in a coach and four over the twenty miles between bucking- 
ham palace in london and the royal castle on Windsor terrace, she 
treats of the belly, womb, old age, and that i, even i, will carry and de- 
liver you, and asks to whom will ye liken and compare me to } and 
further states, they lavished gold, and hired gold-smiths, it is well 
known that the royal palace and Windsor castle have profusion of gold, 
and that the gold-smith had toiled to furnish various forms of gold, to 
satisfy the stretch of fancy for queen elizabeth and other rulers of the 
people, [when the people were deprived of the right of choosing as rulers. 

CHAPTER XLVn. 

The queen commences this fable rather rudely, showing want of 
respect to her sex, as she hath generally done in her fables respecting 
them, and now commands a virgin to grind with mill-stones, and make 
bare her legs and thighs, and states there is no throne, and that this 
virgin shall no more be called tender and delicate, and as elizabeth 
passed by the title of virgin queen, it appears that this fable in her 
mind referred to herself, during fearful apprehensions she entertained of 
the safety of her throne, while a serious outbreak among her dissatis- 
.fied subjects was progressing, but after a while she appears to regain 
courage, and boldly states, again and again, i am god, and there is none 
like me. 

CHAPTER. XLVni. 

The queen pretends that a lord told the man Jacob that it had de- 
clared from its mouth former things from the beginning, and that this 



ISAIAH. 245 

fabled lord had declared it to her fabled man Jacob from the beginning, 
but what imperfect logic the queen composer makes use of here, while 
she only allowed the solitary man adam was in existence for the first 
time on the sixth day after her fabled beginning, in the beginning of 
her first chapter, the first chapter of genesis, which she WTote under 
the title of her hero moses, and fifty more before she became thought- 
fully sober to enable her to notice she had been pretending her hero 
had been writing more than a period of two thousand years prior to 
her fabrication of his birth ; and now, striving again to alarm and 
intimidate her subjects, states god says it will defer its anger, thus 
continuing a scheme of deception to depress their spirits by aiming to 
hold them in terror and dismay ; stating again the oft-repeated author- 
itative sentence, i am the first and the last, and that there is no peace 
unto the wicked, when but few more wicked could be found than the 
composer of the fables She left. 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

The queen boldly states the lord hath called me from my mother's 
womb, this of course arose in her mind on account of experience prov- 
ing to her that she was chosen to rule, whether she was jade or fool, ac- 
cording to the laws of hereditary monarchy, she states her mouth is 
like a sharp sword, and ssljs she has labi)red in vain, and spent her 
strength for naught ; and adds, yet surely m_y judj^ment is with the lord, 
thus striving to make her subjects believe a cruel lord might destroy 
them in a moment if they rebelled against her judgments, and states 
god shall be her strength, and i will be glorious in the eyes of the lord, 
kings and princes, she states, shall worship, this of course she had 
learned from experience would be a sure, delusive means to cause her 
subjects to pray, while the kings and princes could dissemble any way. 

CHAPTER L. 

The queen states the lord asks where is the bill of your mother's 
divorcement, or which of my creditors is it to whom i have sold you ; 
for your transgressions is your mother put away ! this fable is on a 
par with the first commandment the queen wrote under the pretence 
that they were graven on stone with the finger of a lord, wherein 
she states it declared it would visit the sins of fathers to the fourth 
generation, she states that she gave her cheek to them that pluck- 
ed off the hair, and hid not her face from shame, this was generally 



246 REVIEW OF 

known that she was shamelessly bold, and although she might have 
submitted to having the hairs plucked off her cheeks, her appearance 
did through many years show that that process was no go as respects 
her lip, as that was known to be bearded, she states the lord hath 
given her a learned tongue, and opened her ear, and that it will help 
her, which she repeats, and those who condemn her shall become like 
an old garment. 

CHAPTFR LI. 

The queen boldly commands her subjects to hearken unto her, adding-, 
a law shall proceed from me, and i will make my judgments for a light 
of the people, she had only treated of her own nation in a previous 
verse of this fable, who she again strives to alarm by the dismal threat 
that the earth shall become as an old garment, and its inhabitants shall 
die in like manner, finally, in the midst of these wild imaginings, the 
queen appears to have become frantic, and inquires of her supposed in- 
visible lord if it was not he that dried the sea, and refers to one of her 
former fables that represented the waters of a sea being divided, and 
standing up like two walls, while a nation of people passed through its 
midst on dry ground, and also treats of drunkenness and wine. 

CHAPTER LII. 

The queen treats of beautiful garments and of loosing neck-bands, 
and of people being sold and of their being redeemed, and of money, 
and of the beautiful feet of him that brlngeth good tidings ; and directs 
watchmen to lift up their voices and sing, and says her servant shall 
deal prudently ; and treats of kings. 

CHAPTER LHI. 

The queen, treating of a man, states he hath no form, or comeliness, 
or beauty, that we should desire him ; when he is seen, we hid our faces 
from him. therefore will i divide a portion with the great ! of this, 
beyond reasonable dispute, her subjects knew well, and that there was 
no need for her to tell of it. she also treats of dividing spoil with the 
strong. 

CHAPTER LIV. 

The queen again shows her mind was troubled about barren women^ 



ISAIAH. 247 

and states desolate women have more children than the married, and 
from her general calculation it appears as though it might have been the 
case with herself; and if so, she must have managed shrewdly to have 
concealed the real proofs of that circumstance so corresponding with 
her own assertion, she treats of having the tent enlarged, with addi- 
tion of plenty of curtains, and to strengthen the stakes, and encourages 
those who she states have more children than the married, stating 
their seed shall inherit cities, and tells them not to fear, and they shall 
forget the shame of their youth and the reproach of widowhood. 

CHAPTER LV. 

The queen treats of wine, and asks her subjects why they spend 
their money for that which is not bread, and recommends them to eat 
that which is good, and to delight in fatness, she ought to have con- 
sidered it was out of the power of her subjects to procure good fat 
things, and extorted much less from them, she treats of the sure mer- 
cies of her fabled king david, who she hath previously portrayed cruel 
as herself, and declares the word that goeth out of her mouth shall ac- 
complish what she pleaseth. 

CHAPTER LVJ. 

The queen treats of the eunuch being a dry tree, and forbids them to 
say so ; and proposes to have them made amends for the deprivation of 
having sons and daughters, by giving them place in her house, and a 
name that shall not be cut off; which idea of the queen dolh strongly 
indicate that some youths had been compelled, through the cruel ca- 
price of this lewd queen, to submit to such injury, the queen treats 
of watchmen being blind, ignorant, dumb dogs, adding, yea ! they are 
greedy dogs, which can never have enough ; every one looks for his own 
gain, surely it was ungenerous to stigmatize watchmen thus, even in 
a period when they might have humbly requested as many more far- 
things per night as she states in her testament five sparrows were sold 
for, while she was revelling in wealth extorted from the earnings of her 
industrious subjects. 

CHAPTER LVII. 

The queen appears to be in a cross humor, and commands the sons 
of the witches and lewds to draw near, and asks them, against who do 
they sport and make a wide mouth .'' which doth appear as though the 



248 REVIEW OF 

queen had on some occasions conceited she saw such persons making 
fun of her. she asks them if she did not hold her peace ; and they 
feared her not, and had lied, and remembered her not. 

CHAPTER LVIII. 

The queen treats of her people and a trumpet, and tells them they 
find pleasure in labor on the fast-day, and that they debate and smite 
with the fist, and asks them if it is such a fast as she hath chosen, tell- 
ing them they should bow down their heads as a bull-rush, and asks 
again, wilt thou call this a fast-day that i have chosen ? 

CHAPTER LIX. 

The queen tells the people their god hath hid its face and will not 
hear, and that they hatch eggs, and weave nets, and there is no judg- 
ment in their goings, and states we grope for the wall as if we had no 
eyes ; we stumble at noon-day. if the queen stumbled, she still ought 
to have kept sober enough to be conscious that but few of her subjects 
could get as much strong wine as herself, truth, she states, is fallen in 
the streets, which indicates that she could not refrain from acknowl- 
edging the conviction that she did not make much use of truth with 
her pen. yea, truth faileth, she states, and he that departeth from evil 
maketh himself a prey, no one with reason can advocate such doc- 
trine as being true or useful. 

CHAPTER LX. 

The queen strives to make her subjects set but little value on them- 
selves, by stating gross darkness shall cover them, and that their hearts 
shall fear and be enlarged, because of the abundance of the sea shall be 
converted unto them, and a multitude of camels shall cover them ; and 
the queen suddenly tells a flattering tale, as though she had considered 
her dismal, threatening stories had too far exceeded the bounds of nature 
and probability, and states the dromedaries of three nations shall bring 
gold, which she probably dreamed she should hold, as she does not be- 
stow it on any fabled king in this instance, she treats again ojf gold, 
also of silver, brass, iron, officers, kings, and many other real things. 

CHAPTER LXI. 
The queen states the lord hath anointed her to proclaim liberty to 



ISAIAH. 249 

captives, and to open prisons, this hath occasionally been done when 
monarchs' first assume power ; and the queen appears to have some 
glimpse of charitable emotions aroused in her breast while writing this 
fable, and tells her subjects that strangers shall feed their flocks, and 
aliens shall be their ploughmen and vine-dressers; but ye shall be 
named the priests of the lord, thus, while striving to show kindness 
for her own subjects, shows that she was willing^to rule unjustly. 

CHAPTER LXII. 

The queen treats of a man who, she states, shall have a new name, 
which the mouth of a lord shall name, she also rewards this fabled 
hero with a crown and diadem, and tells him his land shall be married, 
surely the queen ought to have bestowed plenty of good seed oil this 
said-to-be married land, she tells the hero of this fable she hath set 
watchmen on walls, who shall never hold their peace, and states the 
lord had sworn by its right arm that he would not any more give their 
corn and meat to their enemies, the insinuation that an invisible spirit 
had formerly done so, could scarcely fail to cause credulous persons to 
live in dread of starving, while they were simple enough to retain be- 
lief of the existence of so capricious an almighty invisible spirit ; as they 
never could feel safe in limb, property, or life, the queen, as usual, 
treats of wine, and drinking in courts, and says something about stan- 
dards. 

CHAPTER LXIII. 

The queen treats of dyed garments, and glorious apparel, and of the 
wine-press, and of making people drunk, and about some people having 
rebelled, and having had outbreaks among her subjects, it is likely 
fear and the use of strong drink may have distracted her mind, and 
she tells her lord that people have trodden down its sanctuary. 

CHAPTER LXIV. 

The queen pretends to inform a lord that men have not seen or heard, 
since the beginning of the world, what had been prepared for them 
that wait, and also tells it that our righteousness are but as filthy rags, 
and that the house in which their fathers praised is burnt, telling it 
also with fire, then, of course, the queen would content herself with 
the belief that her illiterate and credulous subjects would not entertain 
a belief that the building was burnt with water, which she had good 
reason to believe they might be as easily trained to believe as that her 

17 



260 REVIEW OF 

fabled hero moses wrote the account of his birth, death, and burial, and 
a multitude of marvellous stories before he was born. 

CHAPTER LXY. 

The queen states she hath spread out her hands to a rebellious peo- 
ple, a people that provoked me before my face, who eat swine's flesh, 
and broth of abominable things in vessels, and declares she will recom- 
pense them, it is to be hoped she did not put these pork-eaters to 
torture in any of her cruel contrivances in the tower of london. 

CHAPTER LXVI. 

The queen pretends a lord said the heaven is my throne, and the 
earth my footstool ; but had she been sober enough to remember her 
flood fable, where she made it to appear her lord's footstool was under 
water two years, she would have needed to have portrayed her lord as 
being the same composition as the big fish she stated it provided to 
swallow a man, retaining him in its belly three nights and daysj 
and that there he prays, and the fish became able to live awhile 
in the same element with the warm-blooded inhabitants of the air and 
earth, and left the man on dry land, the queen hath laid down some 
laws that people do not respect or be guided by. she states, he that 
killeth an ox is as he that slew a man, he that sacrifice th a lamb as if 
he cut off a dog's neck, several more absurd statements are added, 
finally, the queen concludes, i will choose their delusions, and bring 
fears on them, for they choose that which i did not delight in, and 
boldly calls on her subjects, particularly those who tremble, to hear the 
word of the lord that rendereth recompense to enemies, and flies di- 
rectly into wild imaginings respecting travailing pairs, and of a man 
child being delivered, and asks if a nation shall be born in one day, 
and shall i not cause to bring forth ^ and treats of mothers'giving suck 
and comfort to their children, and of dandling them on their knees, 
adding, when you see this your heart shall rejoice, this last is a theme 
that the queen frequently revives. 

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER I. 

The queen treats of an unborn child, of various fabled kings, and pre- 
tends to know that a lord asked the fabled prophet Jeremiah, what seest 
thou .? and that jerry told it, a seething pot w^ith its face towards the 



JEREMIAH. 251 

north, then the lord tells jerry, out of the north an evil shall break 
forth on all the inhabitants of the land, and every one shall set his 
throne at the entrance of gates and against walls, therefore gird up 
thy loins, and speak to them all that i have commanded thee ; be not 
dismayed at their faces, for i have made thee this day a defenced city, 
and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against kings and the whole land, 
and the people of the land, surely it is not wonderful that the illustrious 
Jefferson should have prophecied the bible would only be known in this 
age of science and improvement as a curious old book. 

CHAPTER II. 

The queen treats of loving espousals when some one went after her 
on land that was not sown, the probability is that a fond ramble of 
that description might have suited her ladyship when she was in her 
bloom, but the law that gave her power to reign allowed her no other 
helpmeet than royal blood, while she was a princess, she finds fault 
with the priests, but^ the law would not allow them to unite a royal; 
princess to girls who jumped over styles, and strolled with her over 
unsowed ground, the priests, she states, said not, where is the lord ? 

CHAPTER III. 

The queen treats of a harlot having many lovers, and of her husband 
putting her away with bill of divorce, lewdness is portrayed to as 
great an extent as it could possibly be by the most j)rofane writer, in 
the general style of queen elizabeth, when treating of the female char- 
acter, to wit: the fair sarah, alias sarai, lot's two daughters, Josephs 
mistress, and several others, the queen treats of standards, trumpets, 
priests, princes, kings, and many other gay things. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The queen states, this jerry tells the lord it had greatly deceived the 
people, saying they should have peace ; whereas the sword reacheth to 
the soul, which is a different course of logic to what the queen pursues, 
after attempting, in her writings in the early part of her testament, to 
persuade her subjects into belief that their bodies would be burnt if 
they did not believe her fable, for in the course of a few chapters she 
boldly assumed to know, or strove to make her subjects believe so, that 
they had some inconceivable invisible appendage that was to suffer ex- 
crutiating torments without reprieve, if the body did not believe what 



252 Review of 

she had written, the queen treats of trumpets, swords, standards, 
chariots, priests, princes, kings, and many other visible things, and re- 
fers to her fable in the first chapter of genesis, of the earth being with- 
out form and without man, and of the heavens being without light, 
showing plainly that one person wrote both fables, the queen states, 
the lord said the whole land shall be desolate ; i have purposed it, and 
will not repent ; not a man shall dwell in any city ; all shall be broken 
down by the fierce anger of the lord ! though thou clothest thyself 
with crimson, bedecked with gold, and scentest thy face with painting, 
thy lovers will despise thee, surely every reader of this fable hath a 
chance to see that it must have been composed by a gay female, living 
in magnificent style at the head of society, the last verse adds to the 
numerous circumstantial proofs that have been treated of, that the gay 
queen of the fable being frequently troubled in mind, because she did 
not a suitable husband find, and of her being nearly wild for want of a 
child, for she again treats of having heard a voice as of a woman in 
travail, and as the anguish of her that bringeth forth her first child, 
surely no person who strives to form a reasonable opinion of the vari- 
ous stories inserted in both bible and testament of this nature can ever 
have an impression formed in their minds that they were written by 
any superior power to an educated female, living in ease and in splen- 
did state of celibacy. 

CHAPTER V. 

Run ye to and fro through the streets, and see if there be a man that 
seeketh truth, for though they say the lord liveth, surely they swear 
falsely ; which statement indicates that the composer was conscious she 
had too often boldly asserted that such a being existed, while her stead- 
fast conviction was that she knew nothing of such an invisible lord, 
the queen of the fable declares she will get to the great men and speak 
to them, for they knew something ; and treats of adulteries and harlots' 
houses, and says, full-fed men were as fed horses, every one neighing 
after his neighbor's wife, and pretends that an invisible lord asks some 
questions concerning such levity ; and that it says it will make people 
wood, and it shall devour them, and one nation shall eat up the harvest 
of another, and their beards, flocks, vines, and fig-trees ; and the queen 
appears to imagine she can make her subjects believe what she hath 
written, and that they are foolish, and addresses them as such charac- 
ters, commanding them to hear this ; and, lastly, acknowledges the proph- 
ets prophecy falsely ; and the priests bear rule by their means, and 



JEREMIAH. 253 

that her people love to have it so. the same is seen in the pursuit of 
many follies ; such as partaking of destroying liquors, tobacco, opium, 
frequenting theatres, and yielding to injurious excesses ; after people 
have habituated themselves to these injurious courses, experience and 
observation show that the sufferers love to have it so, and find it diffi- 
cult to abandon the delusions, while the rosy-cheeked healthy agricultu- 
rist proves to the world that his toils bring health, strength, and comfort. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The queen states, the lord told people to hew down trees, and to turn 
back their hand as grape-gatherers, and ask for the old paths ; and told 
them to hearken to the sound of the trumpet, and that it would lay a 
stumbling-block before them, and people should fall and perish. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Thus saith the lord, trust not in lying words, saying, the temple of the 
lord, the temple of the lord ; behold, ye trust in lying words that cannot 
profit, while ye steal, murder, swear falsely, and commit adultery, 
therefore, saith the lord, my anger and fury shall be poured out upon man 
and on beast, and on trees, fruit, and the ground, it shall burn, and not 
be quenched. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The composer states, the lord said the bones of the inhabitants of a 
city should be brought out of their graves, and be spread before the sun 
and moon, they shall not be buried, and death shall be chosen rather 
than life, it also said, wise men are dismayed, therefore I will give 
their wives to others ; there shall be no grapes on the vines, nor figs on 
the fig-tree ; I will surely consume them, saith the lord, or so the 
queen composer doth state. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Thus saith she lord, I will make Jerusalem a den of dragons, and 
the cities of judah desolate without an inhabitant, and will feed people 
with wormwood, and send a sword after them, until I have consumed 
them ; and commands that mourning and cunning women be called to take 
up a wailing, that our eyes may run with tears, and our eyelids gush 
out. the lord also commands that these women teach wailing, surely 
as mr. Jefferson remarked, the bible is a curious old book. 



264 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER X. 

The queen states that the lord said it would sling out the inhabi- 
tants of the land and distress them ; the queen says, her children are 
gone forth from her, and are not ; there is none to set up her curtains ; 
and pastors have become brutish, and their flocks shall be scattered. 

CHAPTER XI. 

The queen treats of her lord swearing an oath about land flowing 
with milk and honey, which is a repetition of an oft-repeated story in 
her fables, under the title of her hero moses ; she also makes pretence 
of knowing of a lord that talked about rising early, and of a conspira- 
cy among men, and asks, what hath my beloved to do in mine house, 
seeing lewdness hath l)een wrought with many, and the lord hath giv- 
en me knowledge of it ; then when i knew it, thou showedst me their 
doings, but it was like a lamb ! a curious old book surely. 

CHAPTER xn. 

The composer tells her lord that it is righteous when she pleads 
■with it, and requests it to let her talk with it, and asks it why the 
wicked prosper and the treacherous are happy ; and tells it, under the 
title of her hero jerry, that it knoweth her and hath seen her heart, and 
tells her lord the beasts and birds are consumed, and also asks her lord 
if it had run with footmen and they had wearied it. it could not con- 
tend with horses, which interrogatory can prove nothing more than 
elizabeth never knew any lord that could contend with her coach hor- 
ses, and that she was conscious that was the case, she also shows but 
little faith in preachers, or pastors, by her statement that many pas- 
tors have destroyed her vineyard, which appears as though she consid- 
ered she had treated the multitude of pastors with too much wine to 
feel satisfied. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Thus saith the lord to me, put a linen girdle on thy loins, put it not 
in water ; and the queen follows up this fable by repetition to her for- 
mer fables, the word of the lord came a second time, &c., and this fabled 
prophet is told by the fabled lord to hide the girdle in a hole of a rOck, 
and behold, when thejprophet jerry sought for his girdle, it was marred, 
and profitable for nothing ! adulteries, lewdness, and indecencies are 
treated of. 



JEREMIAH. 355 

CHAPTER XIV. 

It is acknowledged the prophets prophecy lies in the name of the 
lord, and that it says it sent them not, neither spake i unto them ; they 
prophecy deceit, and a thing of naught ! which proves nothing more 
than that the composing queen's belief was, that no one knew any fu- 
ture events. 

CHAPTER XV. 

The queen, under the title of Jeremiah, states, the lord said it would 
appoint the sword to slay, the dogs to tear, the fowls and beasts to de- 
stroy, and would bereave people of children and declares itself weary 
of repenting, and would destroy its people ! and directly complains, their 
widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas ; and the residue 
of them will i deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the lord ; 
for a fire is kindled in mine anger ! yet this fabled lord's long-suffering 
is treated of in this chapter, and the queen hath previously portrayed 
it as being full of mercy and loving-kindness, all forming as great con- 
tradictions as any inebriate could be expected to fabricate in their most 
excited moments ; and the title given to the book by mr. Jefferson, if 
curious, is certainly more mild than it deserves. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The queen states, the lord told this fabled prophet he shall not take 
a wife, or have sons or daughters in this place ; for the parents of those 
born in this place should die grievous deaths, and should not be buried ! 
but should be as dung on the earth, and be consumed by the sword ! 
neither shall men tear themselves for them, and i will cause the voice 
of the bride and the bridegroom, and mirth and gladness to cease, here 
it is seen the composing queen would fain cause her hero jerry to re- 
main in celibacy's gloom instead of being merry ; and also that she 
makes an inconsistent fable about people being left on the earth to in- 
corporate with it, and afterward slain with the sword, she also states, 
the lord says it will send fishers to fish the people and hunters to hunt 
them. 

CHAPTEF. XVII. 

The queen composer appears to have imagined some people's sins 
were written with a pen of iron on their hearts, and says the heart is 
deceitful, and asks, who can know it ? which indicates she knew her 



256 REVIEW OF 

heart was so, and supposed but few knew it ! she states, the)^ say, 
where is the word of the lord ? let it come ; probably while conscious 
she had never heard the word of any other lord than those who at- 
tended her courts and palaces, which style of places she frequently 
treats of ; and in order to make a serious melancholy impression on the 
minds of her subjects that one day out of seven must be adored more 
than the six others, although not an element maketh any distinction, 
pretends that a lord said, if ye bring no burdens through the gates of 
the city that day, but hallow it and do no work, then kings and prin- 
ces sitting on the throne of david, riding in chariots and on horses, shall 
remain forever, this fable manifestly exhibits a silly, inconsistent at- 
tempt of recommending adoration of one day out of seven. 

CHAPTER XVIIl. 

This fabled prophet is represented to require a lord to give ear to him , 
and to remember that he stood before it to turn away its wrath from some 
people ; and, after informing the lord of this, commands it to deliver up 
their children to famine, and pour out their blood, and let their wives 
be bereaved widows, and men be slain ! let a cry be heard from their 
houses when thou suddenly bringest a troop on them, this is keeping up 
the character previouslj" given by the queen to her lord, that our lord is 
a man of war. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The queen assumes to know that a lord gave directions for an earth- 
en bottle to be got, also ancients of people and priests, and proclaim in 
a valley what it would tell ; and say, hear the word of the lord ! be- 
hold, i will bring evil on this place ; whosoever hears it, his ears shall 
tingle ; the queen hath previously made this same jingle ; and adds an- 
other of her former silly sentences ; i will make this city desolate, and 
an hissing ; every one who passethby shall be astonished and hiss, and i 
will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and every 
one to eat the flesh of his friend ! well might the illustrious statesman 
thomas Jefferson, after reading the bible, be impressed with belief that 
it would become absolute in this age of science and improvement, and 
the doctrines supported by its confusing mass be defunct ! surely the 
reverend who revived this prediction on thanksgiving-day must have 
felt delusion from the great success of contribution and adoration paid 
to his profession. 



JEREMIAH. 257 

CHAPTER XX. 

The lord's prophet jerry is smote by a man and put in stocks, and 
kept in them till the morrow ; and jerry tells the lord it had deceived 
him, that he was in derision, and every one mocked him, for he cried 
out violence and spoil, because the word of the lord was made a daily 
reproach to him ; cursed be the day of my birth, cursed be the man who 
told my father a man child was born unto him, making him very glad, 
and let that man be as the cities the lord overthrew and repented not. 
surely this is poor logic to thus represent a prophet, and shows lack of 
sober reflection in the composer of the fable. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The queen states under the title of this hero that the lord said it 
would fight in anger, fury, and wrath, and would smite the inhabitants 
of the city, both man and beast ; and they shall die of pestilence, and 
those that are left I will deliver into the hand of a king that seeks their 
life ; he shall smite them with sword, he shall not pity or spare them ; 
he that abideth in the city shall die by the sword, pestilence, and famine- 
thus it doth appear the cruel unrelenting queen delighted in ruminating 
over cruelties in her imagination, the fable is similar to the one she 
fabricated under the title of her hero king david, who she styles a man 
after god's own heart ; yet she stamps him with the disgraceful, horrid 
cruelty of commanding a nation of people to be slain, and ordering those 
who hid themselves to be brought^out and put under iron, axes, saws, 
and harrows, and drawn through a brick-kiln, many other cruel and 
unjust deeds she also attributes to him, as well as stating he kept from 
iniquity and obeyed the commands of god ; all of which statements prove 
nothing more clear than that the queen wrote the work she left under 
the inspiration of wine, making the book worse than curious. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The lord says, go to the house of a king and say to him, hear the 
word of the lord, o king ! thou that sittest on the throne of david, thou 
and thy servants that enter in at these gates ; to which story is added a 
repetition of one in seventeenth chapter of kings, sitting on the throne of 
david, riding in chariots and on horses ; both inconsistent alike, and nearly 
verbatim ; and nearly as plain a proof that one person of disordered mind 
wrote both, as though it had been respectably testified to as being so. 
the queen again refers to a travailing woman being in pain. 



258 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

The queen acknowledges she is like a man whom wine hath over- 
come, and that the land is full of adulteries, and both prophet and priest 
are profane ; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, the 
prophets commit adultery, and tell lies ; every one walketh after the 
imagination of his own heart, surely the queen must have felt dissatis- 
fied with ecclesiastics while writing this fable. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Two baskets of figs were set up ; a king carried away princes, car- 
penters, and smiths, and the lord asked jerry what he saw, jerry says figs- 
the invisible puts the same interrogatory to jerry again, and again prom- 
ises to send swords, famine, and pestilence. . 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Repetition is again made of the crazy-like story, that the lord saith it 
will utterly destroy nations, and make them an astonishment, and an 
hissing, and perpetual desolation, and take them from the voice of the 
bride, and bridegroom, mirth, and gladness, and the nations shall serve the 
king of babylon seventy years, the most astonishing of all considera- 
tions is, that people will contribute such immense sums, and make such 
large bequests to support and propagate such books and the various doc- 
trines preached from it. it really appears as though all who can read 
were never willing to bestow one attentive perusal on the confusing, 
worse than useless mass. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

It is pretended the lord talked to the fabled Jeremiah about repenting 
of the evil it had proposed to do. and after this, it talked of making a 
city a curse to all the nations of the earth ; so the priests and prophets 
took the fabled jerry, who spake this in their ears, and told him he should 
surely die. jerry tells them of a truth the lord hath sent him to speak, 
and got a short reprieve. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

It is pretended a lord told jerry to make bonds and yokes and put them 
on his neck, and also send them to five kings ; and command that those 
trammeling contrivances be put on the necks of those who would not 
serve a certain king, it is also pretended that the lord says it will con- 



JEREMIAH. 259 

sume them with the sword, pestilence, and famine ; which is curious 
logic, that people should be first slain, then made sick, and afterward 
starved to death. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

It is stated the lord says he will break the yoke of the king of baby- 
Ion ; and the prophet jerry said, amen ; the lord do so. the yoke of an- 
other king is also promised to be broken ; then jerry went his way, and 
the yoke was broken off his neck by another prophet ; but the the lord 
commands yokes of iron to be made instead of the broken wooden ones, 
and declares it hath put iron yokes on nations, that they may serve 
king nebuchadnezzar, and they shall serve him ! and i have given him 
the beasts of the field also, here it is again plain to be seen that the 
composing queen continues desirous that kings and rulers should be in- 
vested with absolute power, and people should serve them in the capa- 
city of humble slaves. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

The king, queen, eunuchs, princes, carpenters and smiths departed from 
Jerusalem by the hand of a grandson of a man, and it is stated god told 
those it had caused to be carried away to build houses, take wives and 
be fathers, which last command the queen describes in her usual rude 
style that she uses throughout the work she left, sword, famine, and 
pestilence are again treated of by the unrelenting composer. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Thus saith the lord, write in a book the words i have spoken, ask 
if a man doth travail with child ; why do i see every man with his 
hands on his loins, as a woman in travail ? here it is plain to be seen 
that the virgin queen, who composed the fable, continued meditating 
on the circumstances attendant on those of her sex who were blessed 
with the natural progress of being fruitful, which she treats of from the 
first chapter to nearly the close of the work she left for her chosen suc- 
cessor to publish, who was simple enough to do so, and cherish and 
maintain the teachers thereof, by which means the inconsistent and 
curious book hath been palmed on man. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

It is stated the lord says, the lord hath appeared unto me of old, say- 
ing, i loved thee, sing with gladness ; behold, i will bring the bUnd, lame, 



260 REVIEW OF 

the woman with child, and her that travaileth with child together, a 
great company : this hath thus far been a favorite theme with the 
queen, she also treats of wine, her favorite article ; and from the in- 
consistency of the fable, it doth appear she was inspired by too free use 
of it while composing this, as well as the preceding fables ; and she 
states, that after i was instructed, i smote on my thigh : i was ashamed, 
because i bore the reproach of my youth. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

A king shuts jerry up in the court of a prison, the son of jerry's un- 
cle paj^s him a visit, and told him to buy a field, jerry says, then he 
knew that was the word of the lord, and bought the field of this youth, 
and weighed him the money ; and the lord told jerry to take the evi- 
dences of the purchase, and put them in an earthen vessel, and jerry told 
the lord there was nothing too hard for it. four times jerry boasts of 
having taken the evidence of purchase before the composer of the fable 
concluded, to attribute that careful management to her lord, she again 
treats of the lord swearing about land flowing with milk and honey ; 
also of sword, pestilence, and famine, and of the lord directing to have 
a field bought for money, and evidences subscribed. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

It is stated the word of the lord came to jerry a second time, while 
he was shut up in the court of a prison, saying, the kings houses which 
are thrown down by the sword, fill them with the bodies of the men I 
have slain in mine anger and fury, surely the cruel, unrelenting mon- 
arch who fabricated such dismal fables must have been desirous to in- 
timidate and stupefy the minds of her subjects, in order to hold them in 
humble surveillance. 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

A king is promised to have a city given him by a lord, who commands 
him to burn it. this lord also commands that bought servants shall go 
free at the end of seven years, which statement plainly shows it is the 
expressed and encouraged opinion and sentiment of a person possessing 
power, who calculates on both living and dead, men, women, and chil- 
dren, being subject to her purposes, in like manner as she would car- 
riages, jewelry, or wine ; and treats again of sword, pestilence, and 
famine, and of princes, priests, and eunuchs, and a story about a calf, as 
a comedy to cause laugh. 



JEREMIAH. 261 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

It is stated the lord tells jerry to bring some people into a chamber 
and give them wine, and jerry sets pots-full before them ; the lord com- 
plains that the people obey not its word, but obey the word of a man 
who told them to drink none. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

A lord tells jerry to take a roll of a book, and write the words it had 
spoken against all nations, jerry commands another man to read the 
roll he had written from his mouth ; the words were read in a chamber, 
at the entry of a new gate, then went the reader into the king's house, 
to the chamber, to the scribe ; all the princes sitting |there, the words 
made them afraid, and they said, we will tell our^dada, the king ; and 
told jerry and the reader to hide, and let no man know where ye be. 
the king sat in the winter-house, with fire before him|; and when three 
or four leaves were read, he cut the roll with his penknife and cast it 
in the fire, and it was consumed ; yet neither the king"or|^his servants 
were afraid, or rent their garments ; then the word|of the lord came to 
jerry, saying, take another roll and write the words that were in the first 
roll, this is a similar fable to that of the two stone tables,5showing that 
they have both been composed by one person of distracted mind. 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

The drowned king pharaoh and his army are revived again in the 
imagination of the composer, or for the purpose to confuse and puzzle 
the minds of her subjects, and to add more terror ;|,she states again, 
more inhabitants are to be slain, by having their city burnt ; and that 
the lord tells the people not to deceive themselves, for every man of 
another nation should rise up in their tents and burn the city ; princes 
put jerry in prison, and in a dungeon manyMays. it is reasonable to 
believe that queen elizabeth, after having had some of her fellow-beings 
confined in dungeons in the tower of london, should feel occasionally 
conscience-stricken on that account, and ruminate on those unjust, cruel 
deeds. 

CHAPTER XXXVni. 

A dismal fable of pretence that a lord said, he that remaineth in the 
city shall die by the sword, famine, and pestilence ; the composer not 
showing herself to have been sufficiently sober, throughout the period 



262 REVIEW OF 

she wrote the numerous statements of this nature, to consider it would 
have appeared rather more probable to have used the sword on 
the multitude of dead bodies that she strove to terrify her subjects with, 
statements of an invisible lord having destroyed by famine and pestilence, 
rather than to continue making statements that they were destroyed by 
sword, also by pestilence, also by famine, princes require the king to 
let jerry be put to death, for he seeketh the hurt of the people, the 
king tells them he is in their hand ; then they let him down in a dun- 
geon, and jerry stuck in mire, the king is told jerry is like to die, for 
there is no bread in the city ; then the king commanded an ethiopian 
and thirty men to take jerry out of the dungeon, and they took old cast 
clouts and old rotten rags, and told jerry to put them under his armholes, 
under cords, and they drew jerry out of the dungeon, this is surely 
logic too inconsistent to have been used or fabricated by any sober per- 
son, to pretend that an invisible spirit who the composer strove to make 
her subjects believe she knew was all wise and mighty, should have a 
man attendant on it as an agent and prophet to issue its commands, and 
yet be so much in the power of other men as that they could severely 
afflict such prophet, the whole fable, like those that have preceded it, 
manifestly, thus far, showeth the work queen elizabeth left to be a much 
worse book than a curious one, as mildly spoken of by the illustrious 
statesman thomas Jefferson, i 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

One king puts the eyes of another king out, and slays his sons, and 
bound the blind king in chains ; and the word of the lord came to jerry 
while he was in prison, saying, tell the ethiopian, thus saith the lord, I 
will bring my words on this city for evil, and not for good, thy life shall 
be for a prey, frightful, as usual, doth the queen's imaginations continue. 

.CHAPTER XL. 

The captain of the guard gives jerry victuals, a reward, and lets him 
go- 

CHAPTER XLI. 

Eighty men, with their beards shaven and their clothes rent, and 
having cut themselves, came into the city ; and a man slew them, and 
cast them into a pit ; but ten of them said, kill us not, for we have trea- 
sures, kings, governors, and eunuchs are treated of. 



JEREMIAH. 263 

CHAPTER XLII. 

Jerry tells people he will pray for them, and it is stated the lord tells 
people not to be afraid of the king of babylon. a lord's anger and fury^ 
also sword, pestilence, and famine, are all again treated of, and again 
with the assurance that ye shall die by them, cruel and unrelenting 
assurance. 

CHAPTER XLIIT. 

It is stated the lord told jerry to take great stones in his hand, and 
hide them in the brick-kiln, at the entry of pharaoh's house, monarchs, 
since queen elizabeth's reign, do not allow brick-kilns near their houses, 
see the piece on that subject by peter pindar ; but here the king is 
to spread his royal pavilion. 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

Thus saith the lord, ye have seen the evil I have brought on the 
cities of judah, and they are a desolation ; no man dwelleth within theni, 
my fury and anger was poured forth and kindled in their streets, the 
queen of heaven and drink-offerings are treated of 

CHAPTER XLV. 

The words of jerry are written in a book, who tells the lord said, that 
which I have built will I pull down, and that which I have planted 
will I pluck up. 

CHAPTER XLVI. 

It is stated the lord says, order ye the buckler and shield, and draw 
near to battle ; harness the horses, and get up, ye horsemen, and stand 
forth with your helmets ; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines ; 
let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty escape, well might eliza- 
beth term her lord a man of war in the early part of her work, as she 
hath shown herself disposed to bestow such a trait of character to it 
from the beginning to the present fable. 

CHAPTER XLVn. 

The queen shows herself to be inclined again to terrify her subjects 
with a threat of drowning, as being again declared by her lord, by pre- 
tence that it saith the land and all that is therein shall be overflown, 
and all the inhabitants shall howl. 



364 REVIEW OF 

CHARTER XLVIII. 

No city shall escape the spoiler, vessels shall be emptied, and bottles 
broken ; I have caused wine to fail from the presses, every head shall 
be bald, and every beard clipped, upon all hands shall be cuttings, and 
sack cloth on all loins, saith the lord. 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

It is stated the lord saith it will cause an alarna of war to be heard, 
and daughters shall be burned, and commands people to clothe with sack- 
cloth, and run to and fro by the hedges, for kings, priests, and princes, 
shall go into captivity together, although elizabeth and her father, 
henry the eighth of england, escaped captivity, they both must have 
known many rulers went into captivity during their reigns, every one 
who passeth by edom shall be astonished, and shall hiss, this last oft- 
repeated finish to sentences that have no meaning in them, only conveys 
the same uselessness that reprobate men frequently make use of to gar- 
nish their silly and oftentimes rude language. 

CHAPTER L. 

Jerry, it is stated, was told by the lord, babylon should be made des- 
olate, and no man should dwell in it, neither should beast ; and com- 
mands all inhabitants to remove out of babylon, and be as he-goats ; I 
will cause a great nation to come against babylon. the character of a 
man of war is here kept up. 

CHAPTER LI. 

The lord again commands that all in babylon be destroyed ; set up 
the standard on its walls, make the watch strong, prepare the ambushes ; 
thou art my weapons of war ; I will break nations in pieces, and destroy 
kingdoms, and the horse, chariot, and rider, the maid and the man, old 
and young. This, surely, is too absurd a fable to have been composed 
by a sober person, and ought not to implant dread in the mind of any 
person, although more cruel threats are added to the fable, such as break- 
ing in pieces the shepherd and his flock, the husbandman and his oxen. 

CHAPTER LH. 

A king reigns, a name is given to him, and his name is also recorded 
in this said-to-be holy chapter ; which trifling kind of fable hath fre- 
quently aided in lumbering pages, but not very often the memory, as 



LAMENTATIONS. 265 

other statements more prominently terrifying/ have generally made more 
serious delusive impressions on young minds, where the task hath been 
imposed ; the fabled king of this story is the same one Vi^hose eyes were 
put outj and his sons slain by another king, in chapter thirty-nine ; the 
same cruel story is also inserted in this chapter, and numerous repeti- 
tions can be found of other fables in various parts of the said-to-be holy 
bible, strongly indicating lack of sober reflection in the composer of the 
whole fiction, specified days and months have been occasionally aflaxed 
to fabled occurrences from the beginning to the present chapter ; most 
of them inconsistently wild and contrary to all well-known regular 
courses of nature, and far beyond the bounds'of probability, serving only 
to confuse and stupefy the mind of readers, or to discourage reading, by 
which means most of those who are under necessity of devoting their 
time to some industrial pursuit leave the confusing mass to the care of 
those who make their living by preaching sermons from the most de- 
cent parts. 

LAMENTATIONS : CHAPTER I. 

How hath the city fallen that was great among'nations ! how is it be- 
come tributary ! thelord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men! for 
these things i weep, i called for my lovers, but they deceived me ; my 
priests and elders gave up the ghost, i amjn distress ; my bowels are 
troubled, and there is none to comfort me. this mourning style of com- 
position appears as though the queen must have written it after she 
lost her favorite earl. 

CHAPTER n. 

The lord slew with his right hand all that was pleasant to the eye ; 
he poured out his fury like fire, and swallowed up places ; and hath vio- 
lently taken away his tabernacle, cast off his altar, and despised the 
king and the priest, and made the wall and the rampart to lament, 
this appears as though it was written during some violent outbreak of 
the people against their rulers, and that the queen laid the blame to 
some supposed higher power than herself. 

CHAPTER ni. 

Surely against me is he turned, my flesh and skin he hath made old ; 
when i cry, he shutteth out my prayer ; he hath made me as a bear and 
a lion, and hath broken my teeth ; i forget prosperity. The queen had 

18 



266 REVIEW OF 

no right to expect prosperity forever, nor to keep her teeth, nor to al- 
ways appear )^oung, any more than the rest of her race, she complains 
that she was a derision to all her people ! and tells her lord it had seen 
their vengeance and imaginations against her. 

CHAPTER IV. 

• How is the gold become dim ! the daughters of my people have be- 
come cruel ; they that fed delicately are desolate in the streets, and 
those who were clothed in scarlet embrace dung-hills ; the lord hath 
accomplished his fury, poured out his fierce anger, and kindled a fire 
for the sins of the priests and the prophets, by this statement it ap- 
pears as though the composer of the fable was conscious she had sup- 
ported some wicked false men, and acknowledged they had shed the 
blood of the just in her midst ! our persecutors, she says, are swifter than 
eagles. 

CHAPTER V. 

Remember, lord, what is come upon us, and consider our reproach, 
our] inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens ; servants 
have ruled over us ; we get our bread with the peril of our lives ; wo- 
men and maids are ill-treated, and princes are hanged, the joy of our 
hearts hath ceased ; our dance is turned to mourning, the crown has fall- 
en from our heads ; thou hast utterly rejected us. thus it is plain to be 
seen that the disconsolate queen felt unhappy while she wrote this 
mournful fable, which hath an appearance of having been composed 
during an outbreak among her subjects. 

EZEKIEL : CHAPTER I. 

J It is stated the word of the lord came expressly to the priest ezekiel, 
and that its hand was on him ; and a whirlwind, cloud, and fire, enfolding 
itself in brightness, came out of the north as the color of amber ; out of 
it came four living creatures in the likeness of man, each had four wings 
and four faces, with straight feet ; yet the sole of their feet, it is also sta- 
ted, was like a calf's hoof; sparkling like burnished brass ! with the hands 
of man under wings on their four sides ! one face like man, one like a 
lion, one like an ox, one like an eagle, thus were each one's four fa- 
ces, and their appearance was like burning coals ! when they traveled 
they went on their four sides, and wheels went with them ; all were 
lifted up from the earth together ; and the likeness of the firmament on 



EZEKIEL. 267 

those four-headed non-such monsters was as the color of the terrible 
chrystal ; when they went, this fabled priest and prophet says, he heard 
a noise of their wings, as the voice of the almighty above the firmament, 
the queen states for the purpose of stupefying her subjects, above them 
was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of sapphire, and 
of amber, this was the appearance of the glory of god ; and i fell on my 
face when i saw it ! of this last sentence being true, no one can doubt ; 
that the composing queen, or any scribe or hero that she might en- 
list in the service of her fiction, would fall on their faces if they should 
see such terrible nondescript, animate, and inanimate, and probably 
meant by the fabricator of them, spiritual also. 

CHAPTER II. 

The queen, under the title of this fabled prophet, writes, the spirit 
entered into me when it spoke, and set me on my feet I by which state- 
ment, it appears, the composer of the fable scarcely felt herself able to 
stand on her feet without help, the spirit is stated to have told this 
priest to open his mouth and eat what it gives him, and that he saw 
a roll of a book, with lamentation and woe written therein, and the 
spirit spread it before him. 

CHAPTER III. 

The spirit tells the man to eat the fabled roll ! and caused the man 
to obey its command ; who states it was like honey ! and the spirit 
tells the man, it had made his face and forehead strong, and took himi 
up, and heard the noise of the living creatures' wings, and the wheels ; 
and the lord told him he had made him a watchman, and to go to the 
plain, and it would talk with me there, the composing queen appears, 
again, to have needed aid to set her upright ! as she again states the 
spirit set me on my feet : the great probability is, if she had not been in 
daily practice of stupefying herself, she never would have been bold 
enough to have let such fabrications remain in manuscript so long, as 
to leave them for her chosen successor to publish ; and it cannot be any- 
thing more than reasonable to decide, that as the composition of the 
work she left, under the titles of old and new testament, show their 
composer could but seldom have been in a suitable condition to com- 
pose with reason, the writing could only have been transcribed a letter 
at a time, by the printer or any other person. 



268 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER IV. 

It is stated, a lord told a man to portray a city on a tile, and lay 
siege to it, and build a fort against it, and set battering-rams around it, 
and set an iron pan for a wall ; for i have laid their iniquity on thee, 
and will lay bands on thee ; thou shalt not turn until thou hast ended 
the siege, and this lord directs (ezekiel) the fabled priest to make 
bread of ridiculous mixture, according to the number of days he lays on 
his side, and commands that he eat it thr ee hundred and ninety daj^s, 
and bake it with man's dung, the lord also commands that its own 
chosen people should eat it ; then the fabled prophet tells the lord 
abominable food hath not entered his mouth from his youth ; then the 
lord condescends to allow cow's dung instead of man's, and commands 
that the bread be prepared with it. surely this fable palpably proves 
it hath been fabricated by a person under inspiration of strong drink, 
who was of tyrannical disposition, thinking nothing too repulsive or 
severe for her deluded, uninformed subjects. 

CHAPTER V. 

And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, a barber's razor, and 
cause it to pass on thy head and beard ; and weigh the hair, and smite 
it with a knife, and bind a small number on thy shirt, and scatter some 
to the wind, and cast some in the fire, this lord also commands that 
fathers eat their sons, and sons eat their fathers; and says, as it lives, 
it will not have pity ; i the lord have spoken it,i will break your staff 
of bread, thus hath a cruel queen strove to terrify her subjects, and at 
same time exposed her lack of sober reflection. - 

CHAPTER VI.] 

The queen pretends, under the title of this hero, that a lord directed 
him to tell mountains, hills, valleys, and rivers it would destroy them 
by sword, and scatter bones and dead bodies, and lay waste dwellings 
and cities, in ninth verse, indecency is added ; sword, pestilence, and 
famine, are again treated of, showing that the queen composer still con- 
tinued inclined to alarm her subjects. 

CHAPTER VII. 

It is stated, the lord said, its eye shall not spare, neither would it have 
pity, and that it would pour "out its fury, and accomplish its anger on peo- 
ple ; and all hands shall be feeble, and all knees weak as water, and bald- 



EZEKIEL. 269 

ness on all heads, and they shall cast their silver into streets, and the 
worst of the heathen shall possess their houses ; none shall find peace, and 
they shall know that i am the lord ; which fable doth manifestly show 
that the composer did neither know or believe in the existence of any 
power higher than herself. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Under the title of this fabled prophet, it is pretended the hand of a 
god fell, appearing like fire, from its loins downward and upward ; and 
it lifted this hero up by a lock of his head, to the door of the inner gate 
of the altar of jealousy, it also brought this hero to the door of the 
court, by a hole in the wall, and told him to dig in the wall, and a thick 
cloud of incense went up, and women sat weeping ; the composer show- 
ing she still felt cruelly inclined, again stating, the lord said its eye should 
not spare, neither would it pity. 

CHAPTER IX. 

It is stated god called to a man clothed in linen, who had an ink-horn 
by his side, and told him to set a mark on the forehead of men that sigh, 
by this it appears the queen did try to increase the fears of those who 
were already unhappy ; and, doubting the effect of such threat, states, the 
lord commanded all to be slain, young maids, women, and little children, 
this hero says, while they were slaying, he asked god if it would de- 
stroy all the residue in its fury ; and it repeats the oft-told cruel story, 
that its eye shall not spare, neither would it pity, adding to the nu- 
merous proofs that have preceded this fable, that the queen compose 
ruminated on deception and cruelty. 

CHAPTER X. 

The fabled linen-attired man is brought into requisition again he is 
commanded to go in between wheels under the cherub, whose wings, it 
is stated, were heard as the voice of the almighty, a cherub took with 
its hand, and put into the hands of the man clothed in linen, fire that 
was between the cherubs ; four such nondescripts are treated of as 
were in first chapter, and in the same crazy-like style, every one having 
four faces bestowed on them again ; and when they went, they went on 
four sides, as before stated, and each one also had four wings ; and their 
bodies, hands, and wings, the queen of the fable allows, were full of eyes, 
and even the wheels that these four had. here it doth appear that the 



370 REVIEW OF 

composer had made too free use of wine to remember she had written 
the fable before. 

CHAPTER XI. 

The east gate of a lord's house is treated of, and that a city was a 
cauldron, and people the flesh, which sentence hath been inserted in a 
former fable of the queen's work ; streets being filled with the slain is 
also again treated of, and that the lord says it will bring a sword again 
on people. 

CHAPTER XII. 

This fabled prophet is again commanded to dig through a wall, and 
he says, he dug through with his hand ; and the lord tells him, to people 
he was their sign, thenet of the lord is again treated of; also the sword, 
famine, and pestilence, and of cities being laid waste ; and prophecies, 
and visions are renewed again and again. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Prophets are compared to foxes ; and the lord says, it will rend the 
wall in its fury^, when it is finished ; so will i break down the wall ye 
have daubed with untempered mortar, that it shall fall, and ye shall be 
consumed ; and know that i am the lord, thus queen elizabeth doth 
continue to expose her desire to terrif}' her subjects, and at the same 
time showing she was not sober enough to do so in a skilful manner. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

It is stated the lord said, if a prophet be deceived, i the lord have de- 
ceived him, and will destroy him, that the house of Israel shall go no 
more astray from me. the cruel threat of breaking the staff of bread, 
and of pestilence, sword, and famine, and of neither son or daughter 
being saved, are all treated of again. 

CHAPTER XV. 

It is stated the lord asks a man if men will take a pin of the grape to 
hang a vessel on, telling the men, behold it is cast into the fire, it is 
burned, it is meet for nothing, and the queen again states, the lord says 
it will make the land desolate. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The lord is stated to have told this fabled prophet to cause something, 



EZEKIEL. d71 

and informs him he was not washed to supple him, on the day he was 
born ; and that it had washed him with water, and had anointed him 
with oil, and clothed him with broidered work, and shod him with badg- 
ers' skins, and girded him with fine linen, and covered him with silk, and 
decked him with ornaments, bracelets, and gold chains, jewels, ear-rings, 
and top-knot of beautiful crown ; but thou didst trust in thy beauty, and 
played the harlot, all of which doth show the composer did more know 
of tawdry, senseless ornaments than she did to any superior power to 
herself, much indecency is added. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

It is 'stated the lord talked about an eagle, and the drowned king 
pharaoh, and his mighty army, and about its own oath, and that it said, 
all the trees of the field shall know it hath brought down the high tree, 
and made the dry tree to flourish. 

CHAPTER XVIII. j 

It is pretended a lord talked about sour grapes, and children's teeth 
being set on edge ; and of people eating on a mountain, and of a man 
being put in chains. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

An interrogatory is put of an unnatural and absurd kind, without di- 
rection to any body, or to any spirit, either visible or invisible, and it 
is not pretended that any lord or god spoke one word, which is the case 
in many chapters. 

CHAPTER XX. 

The fabled land flowing with milk and honey is again treated of. 
and that a lord says, as it lives it will rule over people with fury, and 
bring them into the wilderness, and there plead with you face to face. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The lord, it is stated, tells ezekiel to tell people it will draw its sword 
out of its sheath, and that it shall not return any more, that all flesh may 
know it is the lord, it is plain to be seen, that a tyrannical, cruel queen 
continued thus far, while writing the work she left, steadfastly inclined 
her subjects to affright, in order to hold them in surveillance, much 
more is stated about sword, bright sword, &c. ^ 



272 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XXII. ^ 

It is stated a lord tells ezekiel people hath become tin, brass, iron, and 
lead, and says it will blow on them in fury, and they shall be melted ; 
it also says, there is a conspiracy of prophets, like a roaring lion, this 
appears as though the queen entertained fears of some such kind of 
characters conspiring against her, during a period of dissatisfaction or 
outbreak among her subjects, priests, she states, have violated my law ; 
i am profaned among them. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

It is stated a lord tells ezekiel a woman had two daughters, who were 
not virtuous ; their names are recorded in the said-to-be holy chapter ; 
and much indecency is added in the fable, the queen generally dero- ^ 
gating the female character when she treats of them. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Ezekiel ; it is stated the lord tells this hero to tell people to set on 
a pot, and pour water into it, and gather into it the thigh, shoulder, 
choice bones, and every good piece, and burn the bones under it, and 
make it boil well ! it again tells the people, ezekiel shall be a sign un- 
to them. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

It is stated a lord tells ezekiel that it will make rabbah a stable for 
camels, and that one set of people shall eat the fruit of another, and 
drink their milk, and it says, i will destroy them, and they shall know 
it is the lord, here the queen doth appear to have been too much 
overpowered with wine, while writing the fable, to be able to consider 
slain bodies could not know who was lord or duke I man and beast are 
all to be cast off, which is similar composition to the flood fable, (see ge- 
nesis chapter vii.) 

CHAPTER XXVL ' '' 

This chapter begins in the same manner as statements in the fable 
of the flood, specifying year and day ; it is stated a lord says, it will 
cause many nations to come against one ; it shall be spoil for the na- 
tions, and a place for spreading nets in the midst of the seas ; daugh- 
ters shall be slain in the field ; and twice this lord promises to make peo- 
ple like the top of a rock. 



EZEKIEL. 273 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Ivory benches are treated of, and sails of fine embroidered linen ; ma- 
ny ships, merchants, mariners, and caulkers also. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

It is stated the lord tells ezekiel it will send pestilence and blood in- 
to streets, and the wounded shall be judged by the sword. 

CHAPTER XXIX- 

Day and month are again specified, and the drowned king pharaoh 
is to be .told by ezekiel that a lord is against him, and will put hooks 
in his jaw, and will leave him thrown in the wilderness. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

It is stated that the lord told ezekiel to howl, for the day of the lord 
is near, and the sword shall come on egypt, and great pain in ethiopia ; 
and they that uphold egypt shall fall, and her foundation shall be br6k- 
en down, and they shall know that i am the lord ! and messengers shall 
go forth from me in ships, to make the ethiopians afraid ; and i will make 
the rivers dry, and sell the land ! and set fire in egypt ; young men shall 
fall by the sword, and they shall know i am the lord ! the continuance 
of cruel dismal threats have been a favorite theme with the queen, thus 
far, through thework she left. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

In the eleventh year, third month, and first day, ezekiel doth say, the 
word of the lord came to him, (tor about the hundredth time this hath 
been pretended), he is commanded by a lord, according to what the 
queen aims to make her subjects believe, to speak to king pharaoh; 
apparently forgetting all her fables in exodus she had written about 
this fabled king, wherein she treated of him and his army having the 
waters of a sea that had been standing up like two walls brought over 
him, and also thrown in the sea ages ago. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

In the twelfth year, twelfth month, and first day, it is pretended the 
word of a lord came to ezekiel, telling him to take up a lamentation for 
king pharaoh, and say unto him, thou art like a young lion, thou art as 
a whale in the sea. surely this is bad logic throughout, to portray 



274 REVIEW OF 

pharaoh as possessing the greatest powers that are known on land and 
in the seas, and yet to take up a lamentation for him : as he is also re- 
presented large enough to fill all the beasts of the earth. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Now will i rise, saith the lord, now will i be exalted ; ye shall con- 
ceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble ; your breath as fire shall de- 
vour you, and people shall be as burnings of lime, and be burnt as cut- 
up thorns, the terms conceive and travail are frequently inserted in 
the work the virgin queen left ; which appears as though she was dis- 
satisfied with leading a life of celibacy, and thought much on the courses 
of the married and mothers. 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The reputed word of the lord ; let all hear that is in the world, for 
the indignation of the lord is on all nations, he hath utterly destroyed 
them, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood, for my sword 
shall be bathed in heaven, and all the host of heaven shall be dissolved ; 
the sword of the lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, 
the cruel-minded composer, in twelfth chapter of revelations, also en- 
deavors to terrify her subjects by stating there was war in heaven. 

CHAPTER^ XXXV. 

The said-to-be word of the lord ; behold, mount seir, i will make thee 
desolate, and lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt know that i am the 
lord, this last sentence is inserted in such numerous instances, that it 
would be difficult to enumerate them j and they certainly show that the 
composer of the various fables, in which such bold declarations are 
made, knew nothing of such a portrayed power, and that she was afraid 
she should not make her subjects believe her stories about it. the sen- 
tence is repeated, also the threat of the mount being made desolate. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

The said-to-be word of the lord ; in the fire of my jealousy have i 
spoken against the heathen and all idumea, to cast it out for a prey ; and 
it says, the way of israel was like the uncleanness of a removed woman ; 
wherefore i poured my fury on them, but i had pity for my holy name? 
which israel had profaned, thus the composer strives to confuse her 
subjects, and shows want of sober reflection in the attempt. 



EZEKIEL. 275 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

'The said-to-be word of the lord : speaking to bones, tells them it "will 
cause breath to enter into them, and it will bring sinews, flesh, and skin 
on them, and they shall know that i am the lord, and the fabled eze- 
kiel, like a faithful priest and aid in the assumption, declares he heard 
a noise, and saw a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his 
bone ; and the sinews, flesh and skin came on them, and breath came 
into them, and they lived ; and the lord tells this man friday that the 
bones were the whole house of israel, and commands him to inform 
these lively old dry bones that it will cause them to rise out of their 
graves, surely if the queen of the fable had kept sober, she would have 
first risen the bones out of their graves. 

CHAPTER XXXVni. 

The reputed word of the lord : o gog, i will put hooks into thy jaws, 
and bring thee and thine army, clothed with all sorts of armor, and with 
bucklers and shields, all handling swords ; be thou prepared for thyself 
and company, and thou shalt say, i will go to the uncalled villages that 
are at rest, to take spoil, the city where elizabeth resided, and many 
towns of her realm, had walls, towers, and gates, during the period of 
her writing, and long after. 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The reputed word of the lord : behold, i am against thee, o gog, i will 
smite thy arrows out of thy left hand, and cause them to fall out of thy 
right, and i will give thee to beasts ; thou shalt fall on the field, for { 
have spoken it, saith the lord, surely the present generation need to be 
thankful every day that all such cruel lords keep out of their way, and 
have nothing more to say ; but the composing queen goeth to greater 
extent with her fiction, boldly stating, the lord commanded the fabled 
ezekiel to tell the feathered tribes, and every beast, to assemble at a 
great sacrifice on the mountain, that they may eat flesh, and drink blood 
till they be drunken ; ye shall be filled at my table with horses and 
chariots, saith the lord, surely here is greater proof that the queen of 
the fable was in a condition that rendered her unable to compose with 
reason, than that the writing proves any deity was known. 

CHAPTER XL; 
On a specified day this fabled priest doth say, the hand of a lord, in 



276 REVIEW OF 

the vision of god, set him on a very high mountain ; v^^here was a man 
looking like brass, standing by a gate, with line and reed in hand ; then 
he came to the gate, and went up stairs and measured the threshold of 
the gate, according to this part of the fable, it appears the composing 
queen was not, at the time of writing it, able to soberly reflect her state- 
ments about the gate made it necessary it should possess locomotive 
power, to enable it to travel with the man of brass, surely she was not 
a sober old lass, forty verses are mostly filled with statements about 
the gate. 

CHAPTER XLL / 

Contains twenty-six verses of descriptions of posts, doors, chambers, 
and ornaments of a fabled temple, cherubims, palm-trees, &c. &c. 

CHAPTER XLIL 

Contains twenty verses, mostly filled with ludicrous descriptions of* 
chambers for priests, who are allowed to eat in the holy chambers ; but 
they are commanded to pull off their holy garments, so, of course, must 
come off the holy short linen breeches, and the embroidered robe that 
was hung round with gold bells, which the queen bestowed on them in 
exodus, twenty-eighth. 

CHAPTER XLHI. 

Ezekiel wants people to put away their kings, and then he will con- 
descend to dwell among them forever, the glory of the lord, it is 
stated, came into the house by way of the gate, but it is not pretended 
that either a visible or an invisible lord spake a word, several verses 
are filled with inconsistent stories about offerings and sacrifices, of bul- 
locks, &c. 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

The story of the gate continued : a lord commands it to be shut, and 
people are forbid entering it, because a lord passed through ; but the 
prince is allowed to sit and eat therein, which looks as though the queen 
of the fable had not lost hope of being mother to a prince, about twenty 
verses are mostly filled with nonsense about gates, chambers, priests, 
and their ordinances. 

CHAPTER XLV. 

A portion of land is commanded by a lord to be offered as an oblation 



\ 

I EZEKIEL. , 277 

to itself, and measurement specified by it ; and the queen of the fable, 
commands that a portion shall be for the prince, indicating she still re- 
tained hopes of giving birth to a young prince. 

CHAPTER XLVI. 

The reputed word of the lord : the gate of the inner court shall be 
shut on the six working days, and be opened on the day of the new 
moon and sabbath ; and the prince shall enter by the way of the porch 
of that gate, and the priest shall prepare burnt and peace offerings, 
and worship at the gate's threshold ; and people shall worship at the 
door of the gate before the lord ! it is much to be hoped that the 
rising generation will read and inform themselves of the necessity of 
discontinuing the further use of the inconsistent fables left by queen 
elizabeth, that were published by her successor to the throne of eng- 
land, and palmed on mankind by their aids as the word of a lord, a 
place for the priests to boil offerings is stated to have been four buildings 
in a row. 

CHAPTER XLVI. 

The fable of the gate continued : the man of brass, with reel and 
line in hand, brings the fabled ezekiel out of the way of the gate ! 
again and again he measured, and told ezekiel it should come to pass 
that everything which liveth where rivers come shall live, because the 
waters shall be healed ; but the mine and marsh shall not be healed, 
but by the rivers trees shall grow, and their leaves shall not fade, it 
is stated a lord describes the border, surely a great improvement in 
mind, manners, and comfort might reasonably be expected, if all man- 
kind would devote their study to useful improvements of the realities 
they know, instead of distracting their minds about imaginary spirits 
and regions. 

CHAPTER XLVm. 

The queen of the fable commands that a large oblation of land be 
offered to her lord, and allows sanctified priests a large portion, and 
commands that over against the border of the priests, the levites shall 
have large possessions also, these are the fabled servants, given by 
the lord to do the work of the fabled sanctuary, in first of numbers, 
repetition is again made about oblation, with command that it be twenty- 
five thousand square cubits, and that the residue shall be for the prince. 



278 REVIEW OF^ 

many more gates are treated of in the fable, ending with the declaration, 
and the name of the city, from that day, shall be — the lord is there ! 
evidently a tipsy-like imagination. 

DANIEL : CHAPTER I. . 

This chapter treats of the captivity of a king, and of the prince of 
the eunuchs giving daniel and some others names ; and daniel, it is 
stated, had understanding in all visions and dreams ! and the king, it is 
stated, found daniel, and the other children that he had taken care of, 
ten times better, in matters of wisdom and understanding, than all the 
astrologers and magicians of the realm, nothing more holy in this 
chapter. 

CHAPTER n. 

This chapter commences employment for the faculty the writer has 
represented Daniel to possess, a king dreams, and calls the magicians, 
astrologers, sorcerers, and the chaldeans. the chaldeans request to 
know the dream of the king ; he tells them it is gone from him, and 
if they do not make the dream known unto him, with the interpreta- 
tion, they shall be cut in pieces, the chaldeans request again to have 
the dream shown to them, and say they would interpret it ; but the 
king orders all the wise men of babylon to be destroyed, daniel tells 
the king, if he would give time, that he would interpret his dream ; 
then, it is stated, was the secret revealed to daniel in a night-vision ! 
daniel tells this king that he is a king of kings, for the god of heaven 
hath given the power and glory, daniel tells the king that god hath 
given him the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowls, 
and hath made him ruler over all, and that he is the head of gold ! and 
that after him shall rise another kingdom inferior, and a third kingdom 
of brass, this i should think brazen enough for any reader, without 
repeating the rest of the nonsense contained in the chapter, as not a 
particle of any thing more holy can be found within its forty-nine 
verses. 

CHAPTER HI.' \ 

Nebuchadnezzar, the king alluded to in the two previous chapters, 
it is here stated, made an image of gold, sixty cubits high. It is not 
probable such an image was ever seen ; and even if it had once been, 
it could not be sacred or holy, and a story about it could not be needed 



DANIEJt. 279 

in holy writ, then a long detail of officers, and their titles, is stated, 
that the king sent for to come to the dedication of the monstrous image, 
all these personages' titles are specified in full detail again, as having 
arrived ; all precisely in the style that is used from the beginning of 
the bible to this story ; proving to the attentive reader of the different 
stories that they have all been written by one person, the king makes 
daniel a chief of the governors over the wise men of babylon, in last 
chapter. and daniel set shadrach, meshach, and abed-nego over 
babylon. these are the men whom fire could not injure, and are, by 
this statement, brought forth in readiness for another wild story, which 
is preceded by the statement that a herald cried aloud to all nations, 
that at the time they heard the sound of a variety of musical instru- 
ments, which are specified, all should fall and worship the golden image 
■ that the king had set up, and those that did not should be cast into a 
burning furnace the same hour, the three men named above refused, 
and were cast into a furnace, when it was heated to seven times its 
usual degree of heat, and not an hair of their heads was singed, it is 
stated, but as mankind of the present age have not known of evi- 
dence of any such unnatural occurrence as consumable substances not 
being affected in the midst of fire, they have sufficient reason to be 
convinced the statement is false ; and none but an insane person would 
tell such a tale as truth, for every one of sane mind would be aware 
such an account could not be believed to be true. 

CHAPTER IV. 

This chapter consists of a statement made by king nebuchadnezzar 
of his dream, and his thoughts, and his visions, and that these made 
the king afraid, then repetition is made of his sending for the wise 
men, that they might make known to him his dream, which he did 
not appear to have ingenuity to invent, or memory to enable him to 
relate it, if he had dreamed any. much nonsense is stated about a tree 
that reached to heaven, daniel tells the king that his greatness reach- 
eth to heaven ! and his dominion to the end of the earth ! but it is 
not probable that daniel knew the location of any heaven, nor the end 
of the earth, the powers of flight and travel not being equal to what 
they are at the present time, in verse thirty-three, it is stated nebu- 
chadnezzar the king was made to do a queer thing ; he eat grass, and 
his nails grew like birds' claws, and his hair like eagle's feathers, prob- 
ably he might have dreamed this, or thought it was so while in a state 



280 REYIEW OF 

of insanity ; for he states that his understanding returned to him. but 
all the wild statements, thus far through the bible, appearing exactly in 
the same style of composition as they are commenced in, proves more 
convincingly that they are the work of one wild head. 

CHAPTER V. 

But the king makes a feast to a thousand of his lords, according to 
the manner this statement is made, it is reasonable to infer he had many 
more lords : probably the thousand were the favored half, but at all 
events, one thousand would answer the purpose of having one in a 
thousand different places, with the aid of magicians, to pretend to work 
miracles, and by skill, practice, and quick movements, might deceive and 
delude vast numbers of credulous persons, the king drinks wine before 
his one thousand lords, and orders the golden and silver vessels to be 
brought that his father, king nebuchadnezzer, had taken from the tem- 
ple, that he and his princes, wives, and concubines might drink ; a long 
story is given, that the several personages drank, and praised the gods 
of gold, silver, iron, and brass, and those of wood and stone, thus it 
appears gods of many kinds were plenty, as well as living lords, next 
in order is an unnatural story of the fingers of a man's hand WTiting 
on the wall of the king's palace ; and the king saw the part of the hand, 
and his joints were loosened, and his knees smote each other, and 
he cried aloud to have the astrologers, chaldeans, and soothsayers 
brought ; and said, whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the 
interpretation of it, shall be clothed with scarlet, and shall have a chain 
of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler of the kingdom ; in 
similar manner to this extravagant story, as the writer composed his 
books under the various titles he has given to them from moses to the 
present daniel, making the principal theme throughout as an inducement 
and example for people to submit to and follow, scarcely a particle 
amounting to any benefit to community, and only forming golden har- 
vests for kings and priests. 

CHAPTER VI. 

This chapter continues the statements of kings possessing great power, 
by stating, king darius set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty 
princes, and three presidents over them, that the princes might give 
account to the presidents, and the king have no damage, this story 
forms, as a preliminary to one that is to come of daniel being cast into 



DANIEL. 281 

the lions' den ; all the presidents and princes assemble and tell the 
king to live forever, if their word could have been of any avail, it 
would have made an important tale ; and that they have consulted to 
establish a royal statute, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god 
or man but the king shall be cast into the den of lions, and the king 
signed the writing and decree : the writer here makes kings as well as 
priests the lions of the day. and daniel afterward being caught praying, 
the king commanded, and the others took daniel and cast him into the 
den of lions, thus this tale addeth to the numerous ones that have pre- 
ceded it of the same meaning, and end and aim evidently to impress on 
the minds of mankind that kings and priests, with their officers, were 
endowed with great power and wealth, in order, beyond a doubt, that 
the same extravagant extortions might be exacted from the people as 
is represented to have been taken from their ancestors ; and it is natu- 
ral to suppose a writer of such extended imagination as the author of 
the bible must have possessed would have been bountifully provided 
for by almost any monarch in power at the time, the next part of the 
story is altogether in favor of those who live by preaching about an in- 
visible spirit, which no material being can know of its existence ; that 
is, that such a spirit preserved the praying daniel from the voracious 
lions, by the angel of god being sent into the den and shutting the lions' 
mouths, no man would be willing to trust to such imaginary help and 
take the risk. 

CHAPTER VII. 

The unimportant tale is here told that daniel spake ; surely it could 
not be sacred or holy that a man should speak : and he said, he saw in 
his vision four great beasts come up from the sea. this surely could 
not be an holy truth, as beasts are not yet known to come out of water, 
the first was like a lion, and it had eagles' wings, and the wings were 
plucked, and it was made to stand up like a man, and a man's heart was 
given to it. twenty-seven verses compose this chapter of similar non- 
sense. — the thirteenth of revelations corresponds with this. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Is a continuation of daniel's vision, and is a suitable subject for de- 
rision. 

CHAPTER IX. 

It is stated, daniel tells the lord much, and beseeches him to let his 

19 



282 REVIEW OF 

fury and anger be turned away from .the city of Jerusalem, and while 
he was praying, it is stated gabriel, whom he had seen in his vision, 
being caused to fly swiftly, touched daniel about the time of the evening 
oblation, and said he had come to give him skill and understanding, 
most men have understanding suflicient to know that such acquirements 
are not obtained in such short notice, neither do they ever form part of 
a man's character without his efforts to obtain them, and train them into 
his habits by custom and attention. 

CHAPTER X. 

Daniel states he saw the vision, but the men that were with him did 
not : surely this is neither sacred or holy, and he mourned three wrecks, 
and did not eat bread or flesh, neither did wine come into his mouth until 
the three full weeks had expired, of such starvation he must have been 
tired, had he gone without food the time he pretended he did, or the half 
of the time, from the knowledge mankind have of what starvation the 
human form can bear, they know he never could have told another false 
tale, but he states that he alone saw the vision ; and a man appeared 
"whose loins were girded with gold, with body like a beryl, his face like 
lightning, eyes as lamps of fire, and arms and feet the color of polished 
brass, this is certainly brazen enough not to be sacred or holy. 

CHAPTER XI. 

This contains the unimportant prophecy that three kings shall be in 
persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all they, the writer might 
have known that four had reigned, and how their circumstances had 
been when she wrote the story of them ; and whether he did or did not, 
it cannot be of any consequence to the present generation whether 
any such kings ever existed ; it is of much more importance to them to 
lend their aid in promoting the growth and increase of w^hat is neces- 
sary for their support and comfort at the present period, than it is to 
puzzle themselves about that which hath turned into dust, and cannot 
at this period even enrich the soil, daniel pretends, or so it is stated he 
says, one touched him, and he retained no strength ; and there remained 
neither strength nor breath in him. another touched him, and strength- 
ened him. daniel appears to have several lives ; he neither eats nor 
drinks during three full weeks ; he of course must have been dead at the 
end of that time* next he states, no breath was left in him ; of course 
he could not have either written or spoken, this only corresppnds with^ 



HOSEA. §83 

the story in the last book, the same]writer undoubtedly wrote under 
the title of moses, whose death and burial, and the time people mourned 
for him, is stated in the writing attributed to him. it is stated, the king 
of the south shall destroy many ten thousands, but the king of the north 
shall return with a greater multitude, and the robbers shall stand up 
against the king of the south, this is certainly a wild tale, that a king 
who could have many ten thousands destroyed should have robbers 
stand up against him. in twentieth verse it is stated, a vile person shall 
obtain the kingdom by flattery, many more wild prophecies are stated 
in this chapter, and are of no consequence to any one : all that they 
show is, that the writer was a crazy shrew. 

CHAPTER XII.] 

It is stated, daniel looked, and behold ! there stood other two ; one 
on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the 
bank of the river, and one said unto the man clothed in linen so and sOy 
this is a continuation of his whimsical vision, and only shows that the - 
style is the same the writer has used thus far through the bible, holding 
to the doctrine of supporting kings and priests in ease and luxury, and 
filling other pages with wild nonsense. 

HOSEA : CHAPTER I. 

The queen of the fable states, the lord told this hero to take a wife 
and children of whoredoms ; the wife bears hosea a child, the lord tells 
him to call him jezreel ; the wife bears a daughter, and god names 
this child ; the wife bears another son, and god names this son also ; 
thus, of course, saving the man the customary christening fees, partic- 
ularly if he was to have all his children christened in the same man- 
ner, and had them proportionably fast as the israelites. of whom, it is 
stated, their children should be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be 
measured or numbered. 

CHAPTER II. 

Plead with your mother, for she is not my wife ; neither am i her 
husband, surely this cannot be the word of so wise a spirit that could 
make the earth and seas in a day ! wine, licentiousness, indecency, 
and lewdness are treated of in bold style, showing the queen of the 
fable was not able to compose with reason while writing it. 



384 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER III 

It is stated, the lord told hosea to love an adulteress ; so the hero of 
the fable says he bought one, and told her she should not play the har- 
lot, this term elizabeth hath often inserted in her Vi^ork. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The reputed vrord of the lord : thou shalt fall in the day, and the 
prt)phet in the night, and i will destroy thy mother ; my people are 
destroyed for lack of knowledge ; they shall commit whoredoms, and 
not increase ; whoredom and wine take away the heart, surel}'' no 
person but a dissipated, licentious reveller would have thought of 
writing this, and they only in a period of remorse that their own 
course of conduct had caused, the word of the lord, or so reputed to 
be : my people ask counsel, for the spirit of whoredom hath caused 
them to err, and they have gone a whoring ! your daughters shall 
commit whoredoms, and your spouses adultery, and i will not punish 
them, much indecency of gross nature is added, such as no sober 
person would be likely to have boldness enough to declare to be the 
word of a lord. 

CHAPTER V. ' 

Hear this, o priests ! blow ye the cornet ! cry aloud ! i will pour 
out my wrath like water, and will be as a lion, surely there is nothing 
worthy of adoration portrayed here. 

CHAPTER VI. 

What shall i do unto thee, o judah ? for your goodness is as the 
morning cloud ; therefore i have hewed them by the prophets, and slain 
them by the words of my mouth, they have dealt treacherously ; and 
as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder 
in the way by consent, for they commit lewdness, the queen of the 
fable appears to be in an unusual ill mood toward priests, for she 
generally bestow's honors and rewards on them throughout the work 
she left. 

CHAPTER VH. 

They are all adulterers, as an overheated oven, the princes have 

made the king sick with bottles of wine, here it is again seen that 

the composing queen retained her fond recollection of wine, and knew 
the effects of intemperance. 



HOSEA. 285 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Set the trumpet to thy mouth ; mine anger is kindled ; israel is 
swallowed up. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The wine-press will not feed them, and the new wine shall fail, 
thou hast gone a whoring, and loved a reward on every corn floor, 
they shall not offer wine to the lord, though they bring up their 
children, i will bereave them, that there shall not be a man left, the 
queen of the fable requests her lord to give them a miscarrying womb 
and dry breasts, which condition she appears to consider a great pun- 
ishment ; and many parts of her work correspond to prove she had 
long considered such condition a reproach and punishment. 

CHAPTER X. , 

The queen of the fable prophecies, people shall say they have no 
king, of course she must have been conscious that neither jew nor 
gentile in england had a king over them during her reign, the king of 
Samaria, she states, is cut off ; therefore a tumult shall arise among 
people, and fortresses shall be spoiled, and mothers shall be dashed in 
pieces on their children in the day of battle ; the fabrication only show- 
ing its composer naturally cruel inclined, and lacking sobriety while 
composing it. 

CHAPTER XL 

They shall walk after the lord ! he shall roar like a lion ! the chil- 
dren shall tremble, and i will place them in their houses, saith the lord. 

CHAPTER XII. 

The lord hath a controversy with judah, and will punish Jacob, who 
took his twin brother by the heel in the womb ; which unborn babe is 
stated to have had strength and power with god, and power over an 



angel. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



It is pretended an invisible spirit tells people, i am the lord thy god ! 
and says there is no saviour beside it, and that it did not know them 
in the land of drought,"and that it will i be unto them as a lion, and 
meet them as a bear bereaved of its whelps, and rend the caul of 



286 REVIEW OF 

their hearts,\and devour like a lion ; i vrill be thy king ; i gave thee a 
king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath, travailing 
women are treated of ; the fable ending with, children shall be dashed 
in pieces, and women with child ripped up ; shov/ing that the 
motherless monarch of the fable felt envious of mothers with babes, 
and that wine had emboldened her to show her envy. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

We will not ride on horses, the probability is, the composer felt 
herself too old to ride on a saddle, the wise, she states, shall under- 
stand these things, from this we may suppose, elizabeth thought the 
redness of her nose would let the wise understand why she preferred 
riding in a carriage. 

JOEL : CHAPTER I. 

The reputed word of the lord : tell your children, that which the palmer- 
worm hath left the locust hath eaten, that which the locust hath left 
the canker worm hath eaten, and that which the canker worm hath left the 
caterpillar hath eaten, awake, ye drunkards ! and weep and howl, ye 
drinkers of wine ! surely, every reader of this fable who strives to be 
guided by reason, must discern that the queen of the fable was not able 
to compose rationally at the time of writing it, and that she must 
have been strongly inspired with the fumes of wine to have been bold 
enough to have fabricated the wild nonsense ; and that her continuing 
to fabricate so much shameful inconsistency, and to leave it for her 
successor to publish, conveys strong proof that she was but seldom 
sober during the period she composed and wrote the whole fiction that 
forms the bible, testament, and apocrypha, to aid her in this work, 
she had the advantage of whatever bible might have been in use during 
her father's reign, to extract from. 

CHAPTER II. 

The queen of the fable tells us to blow the trumpet and sound an 
alarm, and let the inhabitants tremble, for the day, she doth say, of the 
lord is nigh at hand ; a fire devoureth, a flame burneth before them ; 
their appearance is as horses, and as horses they shall run ; like the 
noise of chariots on the tops of mountains they shall leap, as a strong 
people set in battle array ; all faces shall gather blackness ; they shall 
run like mighty men, and climb the wall ; they shall run on the wall, and 



AMOS. 287 

climb on the houses, and enter windows like a thief, the earth shall 
quake, and the lord shall utter its voice before his army, for his camp 
is very great, blow the trumpet, sanctify a fast, let the priests weep : 
i will remove the northern army with his face toward the east sea, 
and his hinder part toward the outermost sea. fats shall overflow with 
wine and oil. this appears as though the composer wrote it after she 
did dine on rich face, and filled all the space she had to spare with 
overflowing plentj?- of strong wine. 

CHAPTER III. 

The reputed word of the lord : they have given a boy for an harlot, 
and a girl for wine, that they might drink ; age hath taken my silver 
and gold, i will sell your sons and daughters to people w^ho will sell 
them again, the mountains shall drop new wine, and hills shall flow 
with milk, and the earth shall shake, so ye shall know that i am the 
lord, the composer shows, throughout her work, that she doubted of 
3making her subjects believe her inconsistent stories about a lord or god^ 
by the innumerable declarations she makes of those words, while attrib- 
uting incredible transactions to such a supposed spirit. 

AMOS: CHAPTER L 

The reputed word of the lord : who, it is again stated, will roar, and 
^end fire into a man's house, and cut ofl" inhabitants, and send fire on a 
wall, which shall devour palaces, and will send fire in another place, 
and in yet another, and will kindle fire in 3^et another, the queen of 
the fable manifestly pictures in her imagination a very fiery lord, 

CHAPTER II. 

The reputed word of the lord : it says it will send a fire on moab, 
and moab shall die with shouting and sound of trumpet, and it will 
slay the judge and princes, it complains that Israel sold the righteous 
for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes, and that father and son 
wbuld make free with the same maid, and lie down and drink wine, 
thus, it is plain to be seen, the wild composing queen retained fond 
recollection of wine throughout the work she left, and that its incon- 
sistency shows she was in the practice of distracting her mind by par- 
taking too freely of it. 

CHAPTER III. 
The reputed word of the lord : shall a trumpet be blown, and the 



288 REVIEW OF 

people not be afraid ? shall there be evil in a city, and the lord hath 
not done it ? the lion hath roared, who will not fear ? as the shepherd 
taketh two legs, or a piece of an ear, out of a lion's ipouth, so shall 
the children of Israel be taken from a corner of a bed or couch ; and i 
will smite the winter-house with the summer-house, and the houses of 
ivory shall perish, there cannot exist a reasonable doubt but that 
queen elizabeth of england knew more about ivory, and other valuable 
realities, than she did of any invisible lord, god, or ghost. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The reputed word of the lord : it says it will take you and your pos- 
terity away with fish-hooks, and give cleanness of teeth, and want of 
bread ; and commands people to bring sacrifices every morning, and 
tithes after three years, it also says, it hath sent pestilence among peo- 
ple, and slain their young men with the sword, and taken away their 
horses, cruel ideas are exhibited in the work queen elizabeth left, from 
the beginning of genesis to the end of revelations, which can be discern- 
ed by perusal ; and in her apocrypha the same style of composition is 
predominant also. 

CHAPTER V. - 

The reputed word of a lord : who is said to be invisible, and beyond 
reasonable doubt will never be anything more, but here it is, stated, 
seek ye me, and je shall live ; and to make the sentence impressive, the 
queen of the fable repeats it ; and also inserts, seek him that maketh the 
stars, and poureth the waters of the sea on the earth, the lord, she 
states, is his name ; who says, wailing shall be in all streets and vine- 
yards, and commands that husbandmen be called to mourning, and the 
skilful to lamentation. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The reputed word of a supposed invisible lord : w^oe to them that are 
at ease, lying on ivory beds, and stretching on couches, and eat lambs 
and calves, chant music, drink wine, and anoint themselves, the lord 
god hath sworn, saith the lord, by himself, it would deliver up the city 
and all therein ; and if ten men remain in one house, they shall die ; and 
a man's uncle shall take him up and say, hold thy tongue, surely this 
fable contains proof that its queen lacked sober sense while fabricating it. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

The reputed word of a lord : this lord repeats having made grass- 



AMOS. 289 

hoppers in the latter part of the king's mowings, which statement contra- 
dicts the queen's declarations in genesis, that all hopping, leaping, creep- 
ing, and flying things were made before she drowned them in the flood 
fable, now she states, fire devoured the great deep, and eat up a part ; 
and again states, the lord repented, which she also states previous to her 
flood fable ; that the lord repented it had made man, and that it said it 
would destroy him, the beast, and creeping things ; all showing, as innu- 
merable other statements do throughout the work, that it hath been fab- 
ricated by one person, who lacked sobriety while writing the various 
fables which form the bible, testament, and apocrypha, the story of the 
fabled lord standing on a wall with plumb-line in hand is revived, and the 
queen of the fable adds, the lord said, thy wife shall be an harlot, and 
thy sons and daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be 
divided by line, and thou shalt die in a polluted land. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The lord, it is stated, showed a man a basket of fruit, and asked him, 
what seest thou ? and it tells the man the songs of the temple shall be 
howlings,and many dead bodies shall be in every place, repetition is 
made of buying the poor for a pair of shoes, and of turning feasts into 
mourning, and songs into lamentations, and every head being made bald, 
and sackcloth being brought on all loins, and of famine being sent, and 
of people running to and fro, and wandering from sea to sea to seek the 
word of the lord, and of young men and virgins fainting with thirst, here 
the queen manifestly makes a crazy kind of an attempt to impress on 
the minds of her subjects that a cruel invisible lord held arbitrary power 
over them. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The reputed word of the lord : this lord, it is stated, said, smite the 
lintel of the door, that the posts may shake, and cut people in the head, 
and i will slay the last of them with the sword., though they be hid from 
my sight in the bottom of the sea ; i will command the serpent, and he 
shall bite them ; and will command the sword to slay them, and set mine 
eyes on them for evil, here miserable logic is exhibited, as it hath 
been in numerous instances in various parts of the work ; for it could 
not be of any use, either as punishment or reward, to dead bodies to 
have evil eyes set on them, repetition is made that land shall melt, 
and shall be drowned ; again it is stated, hills shall melt, and mountains 



290 REVIEW OF 

drop wine ; but the queen of the fable could drink as much wine as she 
was able, without scrabbling, like her fabled king david, when he sham- 
med mad, and let his spittle fall on his beard. 

OBADIAH : CHAPTER I. ' 

It is stated, the lord said it had heard a rumor from the lord ; and an 
ambassador is sent among the heathen ; shall i not, saith the lord, destroy 
the wise, for the day of the lord is near unto all the heathen, ye have 
drank on my holy mountain, so shall the heathen drink continually ; 
and the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, 
for the lord hath spoken it, and the kingdom shall be the lord's, the 
queen of the fable, as usual, hath made free use of the word lord ; and 
she also, as usual, hath shown lack of sober reflection. 

JONAH : CHAPTER I. 

In the first chapter it is stated, the lord tells this fabled prophet to 
go to the great city nineveh ; but jonah fled in a ship to tarshish, and 
paid for his passage, a mighty tempest arose, so that the ship was like 
to be broken ; the mariners cried with fear, but the bold runaway 
prophet slept soundly, so that the shipmaster asked the sleeper what 
he meant, and commanded him to arise, then lots were |)roposed to 
be cast, in order to find who was the cause of the hurricane, the crew 
manage to have the blame placed on the sleepy-headed jonah, and ask 
him why he had done so ; for they knew he had fled from the lord : so 
states the composer of the fable, jonah tells the mariners to cast him 
into the sea, and it should become calm, for he knew the tempest arose 
on his account, so the men cast him into the sea, and it ceased its 
raging, and jonah was swallowed by a great fish, and remained in its 
belly three days and nights, which fish was prepared by the lord for 
the purpose, according to the bold pretence of the composer, who 
hath, from the first of genesis to the last of revelations, shown a wild 
inconsistent attempt to stupefy the minds of her subjects. 

CHAPTER n. 

It is stated, jonah prayed to god out of the belly of a fish, and told 
god that it heard him out of the belly of hell ! which wild statements 
indicate that the queen of the fable was only able to partially reflect 
that she had given her hero of the fish story a dreadful berth, weeds, 
this hero tells god, were v/rapped about his head, and the bars of the 
earth were forever about him ; and informs god that his prayer came 



JONAH. 291 

into its holy temple ; and the lord spake to the fish, and it vomited 
Jonah on dry land, surely no person, while sober, would pretend that 
a man could live so long where he could not draw the breath of life ; 
neither would any sane person, while sober, pretend that a fish capable 
of accommodating a man with prayer-room, bed-room, kitchen, and 
parlor could travel with its load to dry land, and there leave the inmate 
of its prison, safe and sound, on dry ground, the queen leaving this 
fable, with numerous others equally inconsistent, for her chosen suc- 
cessor to publish, appears as strong circumstantial proof that she did 
not exercise sober reflection sufficient to examine in mornings what 
she had written in evenings, while strongly inspired with wine ; and 
had the pretended translators of her work been willing and able to have 
read her manuscript, they could not have failed discerning that it would 
have been better to have discarded more than the apocrypha. 

CHAPTER, III. 

It is stated, the lord told jonah a second time to go to the great city 
of nineveh and preach unto it. jonah cries, and prophecies that in 
forty days nineveh shall be overthrown ; so the people put on sackcloth 
and proclaimed a fast, even to babes ; and the king decreed neither 
man or beast should taste anything, or drink water ; and the queen of 
the fable, like an inebriate, doth again state man and beast were to be 
covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto god ; and treats of god 
turning from its fierce anger and repenting ; and finally, is bold enough 
to state god repented of the evil it had said it would do. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The queen of the fable states, her hero jonah was exceedingly dis- 
pleased and angry ; at the same time, she represents him so calm as to 
pray to her invisible lord, and put interrogatories to it, informing her 
supposed spirit that it was gracious, merciful, and slow to anger, these 
are the precise traits of character the queen hath bestowed on her invis- 
ible in many parts of her work, commencing with the flattery in her 
books of moses. the lord, she states, talks more to jonah, and jonah 
talks more to the lord, god prepares a gourd to shade jonah ; god also 
prepared a worm that smote the gourd, killing it the next day ; and 
•when the sun arose, it beat on Jonah's head, causing him to faint ; and 
the composer assumes to know that he wished to die, and that god, for 
the second time, talked to jonah about his anger, and asks him if he 



292 REVIEW OF 

should spare the great city, wherein are more than 120,000 persons 
that cannot discern between their right and left hand, also much cattle. 

MICAH : CHAPTER I. 

The lord, kings, and baldness are treated of in this fable, mountains 
are to be molten, and valleys cleft, hire of an harlot is also again 
treated of, and of one going naked and mourning like an owl, and 
wailing like dragons, declare it not in gath. 

CHAPTER n. 

It is stated, the lord says it will devise evil against a family, ahd 
commands a cord to be cast by lot in its congregation, statement is 
also made about prophecy of strong drink and wine, a king is to pass, 
and the lord at the head. 

CHAPTER m. 

The fabled word of a lord : the prophets make my people err, they 
prepare war, and flay the skin of my people, and chop them in pieces ; 
therefore ye shall not have a vision, and shall not divine, and the sun 
shall go down over the prophets, and day shall be dark over them, 
this appears as though the queen of the fable felt somewhat ashamed 
of having bestowed unreasonable rewards and power to her fabled 
prophets she acknowledged divined for money, and says, the lord is 
among us. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Repetition is made that the mountain of the house of the lord shall 
be established in the top of mountains, and be exalted above the hills ; 
and the queen asks, why do you cry ? is there no king ? this interrog- 
atory would make it appear her subjects mourned when her father died 
without leaving a legitimate male heir to the crown of england. she 
treats of brass hooks and iron horn, and of women travailing with 
child, as she hath often previously done. 

CHAPTER V. 

It is stated, the lord says he will cut off horses and cities, and destroy 
chariots, and pluck up groves, and execute vengeance, in anger and 
fury, on the heathen ; which statement shows the queen of the fable 
was not yet able to refrain from contradicting her oft-repeated assump- 



NAHUM. 293 

lion of knowing that her fabled invisible lord was full of mercy and 
loving-kindness, and slow to anger. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The queen of the fable tells the mountains to hear the lord's contro- 
Tersy, and that it will plead with people, and that it asks them what 
it had done to them, and tells them to testify against it if it had wearied 
them, and asks them if it will be pleased with thousands of rams, or 
with ten thousand rivers of oil. surely here is proof that the com- 
poser lacked sobriety. 

CHAPTER VH. 

The prince and judge ask for reward, the son dishonoreth the father, 
the daughter riseth against the mother ; therefore, this fabled prophet 
says he will look to the lord, and my god will hear me. then she that 
is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her ; she shall be 
trodden down as the mire of the streets, the queen composer treats of 
her fabled prophet abraham, alias abram, the vile impostor who repre- 
sented his wife as being sister to him, only before two rich kings, who 
rewarded him profusely, the queen also treats of her invisible god 
swearing. 

NAHUM : CHAPTER I. 

It is stated god is jealous ; he maketh the sea dry, and drieth up all . 
rivers ; this statement is also previously inserted in the queen's wild 
fiction, she states, the mountains quake at him, the hills melt, and the 
■earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all its inhabitants, 
these same dismal tales and threats are many times inserted in the 
work, drunkards are again referred to ; which kind of character, it doth 
appear, the authoress of the various fables that form the bible, testament, 
and apocrypha knew considerable of by experience. 

CHAPTER 11. 

It is stated the lord hath turned away who the fair damsel rachel 
condescended to let kiss her by the well, red shields, men in scarlet, 
chariots with flaming torches in the day, raging and jostling against each 
other in the streets, and to run like lightning, are treated ofj showing that 
the composer recollected some pageant show in honor or flattery of 
royalty, or some costly parade that her subjects had toiled by compul- 



294 REVIEW or 

sion to pay the expenses of, while they were not allowed the privilege 
of choosing who should rule and reign over them. 

CHAPTER III. 

The authoress of this fable showeth what she hath done in most of the 
fables throughout the work she left, that she was well acquainted with 
extravagant grandeur, and treats of prancing horses, jumping chariots ; 
and shows she noticed her coachmen used the whip, and that her horse- 
men lifted up the bright wands and the glittering spear ; and she appears 
to know that a multitude had been slain, and that dead bodies were 
stumbled on ; and rudely treats of well-favored harlots and mistresses, 
and again of children being dashed in pieces at the top of all streets, 
great men, she states, were bound in chains ; of course she considered 
her favorite, the earl of essex, was a great man, as it was her intention 
to save his life had she known he wished her to use her influence to 
save him, while he was bound in chains in the tower of the city of Ion- 
don ; she having in a moment of opportunity handed him her ring of 
great value, telling him to send it to her if he should desire her aid ; but 
as the queen was not admitted to visit the earl in prison, he gave the 
ring to the countess of Suffolk, an intimate friend of the queen, to return 
it to her, which she neglected ; and the queen, on account of not receiv- 
ing that token of the earl wishing her to intercede for him, did not do 
so, and the earl was beheaded. 

HABAKKUK : CHAPTER I. 

It is pretended this fabled prophet asks a lord how long he shall cry^ 
and that he charges the lord with not saving ; when he cries of violence^ 
and asks the supposed invisible lord why it doth show him iniquity, and 
cause him to see grievance, hbrses swifter than leopards are treated 
of ; but if the composer had seen her leopards run out of their cages, 
the probability is, her prancing horses would not have been able to have 
kept pace with them ; horsemen, she states, shall fly as the eagle that 
hasteth to eat. this sentence indicates as though the queen had been 
delighted by seeing a review of swift light-horsemen, or her body-guards 
who, by severe training, had become expertly swift, more interroga- 
tories are put to the supposed invisible lord, and more flatteries are be- 
stowed on it. 

CHAPTER II. 
This hero says, he will stand on his watch and set him on the tower, 



ZEPHANIAH. 295 

and watch to see what he shall say to me, and what i shall answer ; but 
does not state who he expects to speak, or who he expects to answer, 
the authoress states, the lord told this fabled prophet to write the vision 
plain on. tables, that he may run that readeth it ; which story indicates 
that the composer had some thoughts of her fable of stone tables, that 
she fabricated in the books of moses, running in her mind, the vision, 
she states, is for an appointed time ; but at the end it shall speak, and 
not lie ; though it tarry, it will not tarry ; he who is lifted up is not up- 
right, because he transgresseth by wine, this statement describes queen 
elizabeth's character and conduct precisely when the trait of cruelty is 
added. 

CHAPTER III. 

This fabled prophet tells a supposed-to-be invisible lord he had heard 
its speech, and was afraid ; it is also stated he said, god came from teman, 
and that he had horns coming out of his hand ; before him went pesti- 
lence, and burning coals at his feet ; he stood and measured the earth, 
he drove the nations asunder ; mountains were scattered, hills did blow ; 
which statements manifestly do show the authoress wrote more than 
she did ever know ; who adds, the mountains saw thee and trembled ; the 
deep uttered his voice and lifted his hands high ; the curtains of the land 
of midian did tremble in connection with these statements, the adjoining 
interrogatories are put to the supposed invisible lord : was the lord dis- 
pleased against the rivers ? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou 
didst ride on thy horses and chariots ? thou didst walk through the sea 
with thine horses ; when i heard, my belly trembled in myself, this 
fable, like most of the preceding ones of the work, plainly prove that 
the authoress of them must have been under inspiration of strong drink, 
so to write or think, she adds, the lord god will make my feet like 
hinds' feet, and make me walk to the chief singer on my stringed instru- 
ments : all of which add to the numerous proofs in the work that the 
composer reveled in wealth and power. 

ZEPHANIAH : CHAPTER I. 

The reputed word of the lord : i will utterly consume all things from 
off the land, man and beast, fowls and fishes of the sea. this is a 
more cruel decree than the one fabricated in genesis, that is styled 
the first book of moses, although evidently written by the same 
eauthorss,''^who neglected to fabricate any account of his existence until 



396 REVIEW OP 

she was writing the second chapter of the second book of moses, and 
then forgetting all she had attributed to her hero moses, as being his 
writings, gives account that he was then just born, although she had 
pretended he had been writing all about the beginning of every known 
thing, and much that hath not yet been discovered to be, in either 
earth, air, or sea. the composer further states, the lord said it would 
cut off them that worship on the house tops, and that swear by the 
lord, according to this decree, woe be to those who swear in courts 
of justice, the lord also decrees there shall be a cry from the fish- 
gate, and a howling from the second ; and i will search with candles, 
and punish the men that are settled on their lees ; which doth show 
the composer did of wine lees know, their goods shall become booty, 
and their houses a desolation ; they shall plant vineyards, but not drink 
wine. the queen composer often objects to others drinking wine, 
although she bore the reputation of taking it freely herself. 

CHAPTER II. 

The fierce anger of the lord, and the day of the lord's anger are 
treated of; and the meek of the earth are commanded to seek the 
lord ; and the ethiopians are told they shall be slain by the sword of 
the lord, who will make nineveh a desolation ; to which statement is 
added the oft-repeated silly story, that every one that passeth by 
shall hiss and wag his hand, nineveh is the great city treated of in 
last verse of jonah, having more than six score thousand persons that 
cannot discern their right hand from their left. 

CHAPTER III. 

Princes like roaring lions, judges like ravening wolves, light trea- 
cherous prophets, violent priests ; this motley group are all treated of 
in this said-to-be holy chapter, and it is pretended a lord said, i have 
cut off nations, and made streets waste, towers are desolate, cities are 
destroyed, so that there is not an inhabitant, i will leave in the 
midst of thee an afflicted poor people. here it is seen, the queen 
had disordered imaginings while writing the fable. 

HAGGAI :] CHAPTER I. 

Thus saith the lord : bring wood from the mountain and build the 
house, ye looked for much, and it came to little, and when ye brought 
it home i did blow on it. i called for a drought on new wine. 



ZECHARIAH. 297 

CHAPTER 11. 

It is stated, the lord tells people to be strong, and that the silver 
and gold are his, and that it tells people to ask the priests, if one bear 
holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and touch bread or wine with 
his skirt, shall it be holy ? the priests say no. thus the queen, as 
usual, bestows honor and power on her priests. 

ZECHARIAH : CHAPTER I. 

It is stated, a lord asks this fabled prophet where his fathers are, 
and if the prophets live forever ; and that it tells this hero of the 
fable it saw by night a man riding on a red horse, standing among myrtle 
trees, and behind him there were red, speckled, and white horses ; and 
an angel, it is stated, told this man (when it was transmogrified into a 
man), standing, also, among the mulberry trees, — these are sent to walk 
to and fro through the earth, the angel is also represented to have 
talked to the lord, and the lord, also, to the angel, and the man is twice 
commanded to cry, thus saith the lord, the queen composer uses this 
style of making free use of the words lord and god on all manner of 
fables and declarations throughout the work, manifestly for the purpose 
of intimidating her subjects, that they might be the more'easily kept in 
surveillance by their rulers, the lord showed this man four carpenters, 
it is stated. 

CHAPTER ir. 

Repetition is made about the fabled man with measuring line in hand, 
and of angels, and of one angel telling the measurer to run, and that 
the lord saith, he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye ; and 
a man tells people he will shake his hand on them, and they shall 
know that the lord hath sent him. such and similar declarations are 
numerous in the work, and many chapters have not a pretence in them 
that any superior power to man spake a word of them ; and surely, 
the contents of both bible and testament indicate their authoress was 
rarely, if ever, sober while fabricating the fiction. 

CHAPTER HI. 

It is stated, Joshua, the high-priest, was shown standing before an 
-angel, and satan by his side ; and the lord said to satan, the lord rebuke 
thee, o satan ! even the lord rebuke thee. Joshua was clothed in filthy 
garments, the angel commands thatja fair mitre be set on Joshua's 

20 



298 REVIEW OF 

head, and stood bj'^ while he was clothed, and protested to him that the 
lord said, that the stone it had laid before Joshua should have seven 
eyes on it, and that the lord said it would engrave the graving thereof, 
this fabled Joshua hath been long dead, surely here is an exhibition, 
again, of a lack of sober sense in the composer. 

CHAPTER IV. 

And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, and 
said, what seest thou ? the fable makes it appear the prophet gave a 
long answer, in similar style to answers stated to have been made to 
similar interrogatories of former fables. 

CHAPTER V. 

A similar story to a former fable of the kind, about a roll, is repeated, 
with the addition that the lord says he will bring the roll into the house 
of a thief, and that the roll shall consume a house, timber, stones, 
and all. and the fabled prophet says he saw women with wrings like 
a stork. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Brass mountains, and four chariots, are treated of; and repetition is 
made of a part of a former fable in first chapter, about red, black, 
grisled, and white horses, and crowning Joshua with silver and gold 
crowns, priests and crowns are, also, again treated of; and again the 
declaration is made, ye shall know the lord hath sent me. 

CHAPTER VII. 

This fabled prophet, it is stated, had the word of the lord come to 
him on a certain day, and in a specified place, this hath been the fash- 
ionable mode with the queen composer, ever since she finished her 
fables under the title of the books of moses. by referring merely to Je- 
remiah, there it will be seen that the queen hath changed from her mode 
of declarations she used numberless times in both those parts of her 
writings, attributed to moses as his writings before he was born, as well 
as the four books she attributed to that hero after she bestowed birth 
on him, such as at the beginning of chapters, god spake to moses ! and 
frequently several times in the body of the chapters ; but in Jeremiah 
she states, in the beginning of the chapters, the word of the lord came 
to Jeremiah, saying ! and in the same manner often in the body of the 
chapters ; also showing that she approved of changing her fashion of fab- 



ZECHARIAH. 299 

ricating wild stories, as well as changing the fashion of her garnients. 
fasting seventy years is treated of ; and it is stated the lord asked a man, 
when ye did eat and drink, did ye not do so for yourselves ? surely no 
sober being would ask such a question, or pretend that it ever was ask- 
ed, and if they had written such inconsistency while not in a state of 
reason, if ever they became sober, would they not destroy such dis- 
graceful fabrication ? 

CHAPTER VIII. 

It is pretended an invisible lord declared itself jealous ! and that it 
said old men and women should dwell in streets, every man with staff 
in hand for age I and the streets should be full of playing boys and girls, 
which does not make the appointment or office of the old people ap- 
pear as a loving, kind, or even a merciful one, as the young folks would 
be apt to jostle the old folks' staffs and leave them all sprawling, and 
then run off bawling for fun ! 

CHAPTER IX. 

It is stated silver was heaped up as dust, and fine gold as mire of the 
streets, thus the composer hath often shown that silver, gold, and 
streets to her were well known, as it is natural they should be to a mon- 
arch revelling in wealth in a city so large as london, where queen eliz- 
abeth, he fabricator of the fiction, resided. She here again treats of 
kings, bastards, battles, trumpets, crowns, and wine ! her favorite arti- 
cle, which emboldened her to write so absurdly. 

CHAPTER X. 

The queen of the fable declares, the lord shall make bright clouds, 
for the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have told false dreams ! 
and this fabled invisible lord, it is stated, said its anger was kindled 
against the shepherds, and i punished the goats ! and hath made the 
house of judah his horse in the battle ; and the riders on horses shall 
be confounded, they shall be as though i had not cast them off, and 
their heart shall rejoice as through wine, by this statement it appears 
the queen's fondness for wine caused her to be unwilling to spare any 
for her horsemen, but strove to persuade them to rejoice with loy- 
alty while fighting, which she treats of, finishing with the declaration, 
i will s^trengthen them in the lord ! 



300 ' REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XI. 

Howl, ye fir-trees, for the cedar is fallen ; howl, ye oaks, tor i will not 
pity the inhabitants of the land, and i will deliver every man into the 
hand of his neighbor and king ! this does not appear to be a cruel de- 
cree, because each neighbor and king would be in friendly attitude, doing 
a friendly thing, by joining hands. It is also stated, the lord said, i took 
my staff, even beauty, and cut it in two, that i might break the cove- 
nant i had made with all the people, and said, if ye think good, give me 
my price ! this kind of composition can be found in numerous parts of 
the work queen elizabeth left, plainly showing the composer of the va- 
rious fables knew more of precious metals, precious stones, money, 
and the generality of good and pleasant realities, than she did of any 
thing invisible ; and living in the height of luxury and extravagance ap- 
pears to have distracted her mind, by causing wild imaginings, and by 
having bountiful supply of wir^e, that she so frequently treats of, kept 
constantly bold enough to reserve her wild fabrications for her chosen 
successor king james the first to publish. 

CHAPTER Xn. 

It is stated a lord said it would make a nation a cup of trembling 
when they should be in the siege against themselves, and would make 
this besieging and besieged nation a burdensome stone for all people ; 
and all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, and the 
governors of judah shall eat up all the people around about ! this said- 
to-be holy chapter appears to contain the greatest and highest author- 
ity for cannibals to satisfy their voracious appetites, of any history either 
what is called sacred or profane, and surely could not have been writ- 
ten by a sober person. 

CHAPTER Xni. 

A fountain of sin is promised to be opened ; and it is stated in rude 
style, a lord said, if any one prophecy, his parents shall tell him he 
speaketh lies and he shall not live, and they shall thrust him through ! 
and two parts of all the people shall be cut off, saith a lord, surely the 
composer fancied she knew lords of different dispositions at different pe- 
riods, some loving and kind, others capricious and cruel. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Behold, the day of the lord cometh ; the city shall be taken, spoil di- 



MALACHI. 301 

vided, houses rifled, women ravished, and half of the city go into cap- 
tivity ; and the lord shall fight, as when it fought in the day of battle ! 
and its feet shall stand on the mount of olives, and the mount shall 
cleave, half shall remove northward, and half southward ; all land shall 
be lifted up from benjamin's gate to the corner gate, and to the king's 
wine-presses ! this fable must, like most preceding ones through the 
work, show to the observing reader that it hath not been written by 
any superior power to an inebriate who appears to be inclined to hurl 
all lords out of power, but one declaring there shall only be one, and 
he with only one name. Jerusalem, she prophecies, shall be safely in- 
habited, and a lord shall smite people, that their flesh shall consume 
away while they stand on their feet, their eyes out of their holes, and 
their tongue from their mouth, every one shall rise against his neighbor, 
and lay hold on him ; gold, silver, and apparel shall be gathered in 
abundance, and so shall be the plague of the horse, mule, camel, ass, and 
all the beasts in the tents, and people shall worship the king from year to 
year, and those who do not worship the king shall have no rain ! and the 
lord will smite the heathen that does not come to keep the feast of taber- 
nacles ; and there shall be on the bells of the horses, holiness to the lord ; 
and the pots in the lord's house shall be like bowls. 

MALICHI: CHAPTER I. 

It is stated a lord said he loved Jacob, and asked, was not esau Jacob's 
brother ! and says it hated esau, and laid his heritage waste for dragons, 
and adds, your eyes shall see, and ye shall say the lord will be magni- 
fied ! my name is dreadful among the heathen ! this last sentence shows, 
as many preceding ones also do, that the composer knew illiterate, un- 
informed persons were terrified by marvellous and dismal threatening 
fables. 

CHAPTER 11. 

The reputed word of a fabled invisible lord : and now, oye priests ! i 
will send a curse on you, and curse your blessings ; yea, i have cursed 
them ; i will corrupt j^our seed, and spread dung on your faces, and ye 
shall be taken away with it, if the composer imagined her fabled priest 
aaron was to have this vile desert served on him when bedecked with 
short holy linen breeches, embroidered robe hung around with gold bells, 
goodly bonnet, breast-plate, &c., &c., it is reasonable to suppose that from 
his nose to his toes no greater attractive odd-fellow than he ever need 



302 REVIEW OF 

be looked for to minister in the priest's office to any invisible or visible 
lord, it is also stated, the lord tells the priests he had made them con- 
temptible before all people. 

CHAPTER III. 

The said-to-be word of a lord, who is stated to be like fullers' soap ; 
of course it is not wonderful it cannot be found, and yet it asks if a 
man will rob god ! and in the adjoining sentence declares it hath been 
robbed, and adds, ye are cursed, for the whole nation halh robbed me ! 
and commands that all tithes be brought into the store-house, prove 
me, if i will open the windows of heaven, and pour you a blessing that 
there shall not be room enough to receive it. this fable is about as sa- 
cred as the one in dil worth's spelling book, of a merry fellow visiting a 
priest and asking him to give him a guinea, and the priest telling his 
visitor he must be surely mad ! then the man asks for a crown, which 
the priest also refused ; the visitor then requests one farthing, the priest 
objects altogether letting this man have any of his property ; the man 
then requests the blessing of the priest? w^hotells him to kneel down and 
receive it with humility, the visitor tells the priest he finds the bless- 
ing would not be bestowed on him, if it were worth one farthing. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The reputed word of a fabled invisible lord : the day cometh that 
shall burn as an oven, it shall leave neither root or branch ! remember 
the law of moses my servant, thus the fabled robber and murderer 
hath been an hero much made use of as a writer, more than two thou- 
sand years prior to his existence, and the composer of the fable hath 
not shown herself sober enough to remember she had compiled state- 
ments that contradict each other, from her first chapter of the fiction to 
the last ; for as she commenced with styling genesis, which is the first 
part of the vrork, the first book of moses, had she been sober any day 
during the period she wrote the book, it would have been natural to 
have fabricated a thorough -good character for an hero, as servant and 
agent of so great a power as she pretends made all things in six days. 



END OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 



MATTHEW. 303 

MATTHEW : CHAPTER I. 

The first sixteen verses are filled with a'list of odd-sounding names, 
of men stated in rude style of being the cause of births, the rest part 
of the chapter contains a fable of a man marrying a mary that had de- 
ceived him, being with child, before they had come together, by an in- 
visible lover ; the composer finishing the fable in the same bold style 
of assumption that she made use of in her fables respecting the mutual 
intercourses of her pretended first couple, under title, of ad am and eve, 
and also of their fabled son cain and his miraculously found wife ; while 
the fable made it appear no other female existed but the mother of cain, 
the wife of adam. in these three cases, and several others respecting 
men and their wives, hath the composer of the fables assumed, in bold rude 
style, to know more about their mutual transactions than any discreet, 
sober person would pretend to ; and she founded the fable of Joseph's 
wife mary being favored with a son by means contrary to nature, and 
all known organization, on a dream ; and also of the young carpenter 
being reconciled to his espoused mary by his dream ; and on this fabled 
dream, it is plain to be seen, the foundation of the doctrine of Christian- 
ity is based, as there is not even pretence made that Joseph heard or 
saw an angel while he was awake. 

: CHAPTER n. 

King herod sends wise men to search for the miraculous child ; a star, it 
is stated, went before them, and stopped over where the young child was. 
the w^ise men fell down and worshipped this fabled child, and made 
it presents of gold, frankincense, and myrrh ; by which statement the 
queen composer makes her fable appear extremely silly, for wise men 
to make rich presents to a babe that could not notice them, or make use 
of all before part perished ; and the pretence that wise m.en worshipped 
a babe, flat on their faces or back, doth show the composer did sober re- 
flection lack, she states, these men were warned by god in a dream, 
that they should not return to king herod ; they departed another way, 
and an angel appeared to the husband of the fabled mother in a dream, 
and told him to flee with the child and its mother to egypt, and stay 
there until it brought him word ; for the king sought to destroy the 
child, thus the composer maketh it to appear that her fabled god, ghost, 
and angel were all afraid of a man holding the same rank in society as 
her father had, and that she did ; and states, when this king was dead, 
an angel told Joseph in a dream to return with the child and its mother ; 



304 REVIEW or 

but Joseph was afraid of king herod's son, who then reigned, and turned' 
aside to another^^ place, notwithstanding being warned of god in a dreann. 
surely if people would but read such fictions, they would abandon all 
respect for them. 

CHAPTER III. 

A man by the name of John, with raiment of camel's hair, and leather 
girdle on his loins, whose meat was locusts and wild honey, baptized two 
nations, who confessed their sins to him. he tells the people that the 
kingdom of heaven is at hand ; bring, therefore, fruits meet for repent- 
ance : by this it appears the composer made up her mind to allow her 
fabled John better fare than locusts for his meat, she also bestows on 
him the importance of baptizing the son of a ghost ; and states, then 
the heavens were opened, and a voice was heard, saying, this is my be- 
loved son, in whom I am well pleased, and in another part of the 
queen's fiction she states, this invisible father allowed this only son to 
be put to death by men in an extraordinary, excruciating manner, not- 
withstanding her statement of the fabled loud-voiced father possessing 
almighty power. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Is a fable of the miraculous child being tempted by an imaginary 
being bearing the title of devil, and the composer appears to have been 
so much under the inspiration of strong drink, as to cause her to think 
she could make her subjects believe a person fasted forty days and 
nights, and afterward became hungry ; but according to all that is known 
of the powers of fasting, no person w^ould be hungry ever again after 
fasting less than a quarter of that time. The devil, it is stated, showed 
jesus all the kingdoms of the round globe at a glance from the top of a 
mountain, and jesus tells people the same story as the man Joseph did, 
that the kingdom of heaven is at hand ; both fables showing the com- 
poser of them felt inclined, each time, to alarm her subjects, jesus tells 
two fishermen who were casting their nets to follow him, and he would 
make them fishers of men ; they leave their nets and follow him. two 
otler men are seen on board a ship with their father, mending their nets ; 
jesus calls to them, and they immediately followed him, leaving their 
helpless father and the ship to the power of wind and waves, thus the 
composer of the fable again shows she was not able to use sober reflec- 
tion sufiicient to form this story any more within the bounds of reason 



MATTHEW. 30& 

and probability than she had done her preceding ones that constitute 
the work she left ; great multitudes, she states, followed jesus, which 
adds more inconsistency, for the greater the number of persons who 
should be so silly as to leave useful employments, such as fishing and 
cultivation, the sooner would a scarcity of food be felt, and if all had 
followed him, a famine must have been the result of such delusion, 
had the composer of the fable kept sober, her abilities would beyond 
doubt have enabled her to have portrayed a better character for her 
hero of the testament. 

CHAPTER V. 

Farthings are treated of, which coin hath only been formed in the 
tower of london, where queen elizabeth and her father kept their crowns, 
wild beasts, and armory, the queen tells her subjects, it would be more 
profitable for them to pluck out their right eye, and cut off" their right 
hand, if either offend, rather than their whole body should be cast into 
hell, here it is plain to be seen that the wild composing queen sought 
to frighten her subjects into belief that their bodies might be cast into a 
fabled hell ; but in more sober hours, it appears that the queen must 
have considered the living could see the bones of their deceased neigh- 
bors remaining after their covering had incorporated with earth ; hence 
she must have seen that to boldly declare human beings had invisible 
appendage belonging to them, that should be rewarded for belief or 
punished for unbelief, of the maternal visible body ! blessed are the poor 
in spirit, she states ; and if a man sue thee, and take away thy coat, 
give him thy cloak also ; and if thou art smitten on one cheek, turn the 
other to the smiter. this is on a par with the queen's mode of taxation, 
taxing articles of food, drink, apparel, and light. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The composer recommends her subjects not to lay up treasures, and 
not to take heed what they shall eat or wear, which she doth repeat, 
and adds, take no thought for the morrow ; thus showing she wished 
to keep her subjects in a depraved, helpless condition. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

The composer tells her subjects that but few find the gate that lead- 
eth to life, but many find that which leadeth to destruction, and to be 
aware of false prophets ; undoubtedly feeling conscious she had pro- 
phecied much falsehood. 



306 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER VIII. 

A leper is stated to have been made immediately clean by a touch ot 
the hand of mary's miraculous son ; who tells the man to offer himself, 
and the gift that the fabled murderer moses commanded, to the priest ; 
and says, many shall sit with abraham in the kingdom of heaven, this 
is the same fabled abraham, alias abram, who got immensely rich by the 
grossest of deception, according to the fables in the fifteenth and twen- 
tieth chapters of genesis, a man asks the fabled jesus to let him bury 
his father ; jesus peremptorily commands the man to follow him, and 
let the dead bury their dead ; which part of the fable does show the 
composer was not yet able to use sober reflection, by adding such dis- 
grace, in want of feeling on so solemn an occasion, to a character she 
attempted, in other parts of her fiction, to make appear miraculously good ; 
and here states he was met by two possessed of devils, so fierce that no 
man might pass them ; and the devils requested jesus to let them go 
into a herd of swine that was feeding a good way off. jesus says, go. 
the legion of devils enter into the swine, and the whole herd ran vio- 
lently down a steep and perished in the sea, and the whole city besought 
jesus to depart ; which looks as though the queen w^as conscious she 
had a hero whom people would not wish to know or see. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The composer states, jesus asked if it was not as easy to say thy 
sins be forgiven thee, as to say arise and walk, the queen, of course, 
knew from experience that it was equally easy either way to talk, 
bottles of wine are again treated of. jesus takes a maid by the hand 
who was thought to be dead, but she arose by this gallant attention. 

CHAPTER X. 

The composer pretends that her fabled jesus gave power to twelve 
men to cast out unclean spirits, and to heal all manner of sickness and 
disease ; and tells them to preach, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, 
sparrows and farthings are again treated of. the bird called " sparrow" 
hath for centuries been known to abound in and around the city where 
the composer resided, and to be generally swarming in st. James's park, 
at the head of which standeth buckingham palace, where the queens 
of england hold their royal assemblies, and is termed the queen's palace ; 
and the small copper coin termed " farthing " hath only been coined in 
the same city. The queen follows up her usual zigzag style, stating, 



MATTHEW. 307 

jesus says he came to send a sword, and to set son against father and 
daughter against mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother- 
in-law. thus it is plainly shown that the composer knew something 
of the laws of man, and the birds and coin of her realm. 

CHAPTER XI. 

The queen tells her subjects, those in kings' houses wore soft clothing, 
this, it is reasonable to believe, is one of the few truths of the book ; 
for it is by no means likely that either her father or herself would give 
house-room to those clothed in sackcloth, treated of in some of her 
fables, she inserts the contradiction to jesus being more exalted than 
any other one born of woman, by allowing her man John to be as great 
as he. it is stated there is none greater, among all born of woman, 
than John. 

CHAPTER Xn. 

Priests only are allowed to eat show-bread on sabbaths, and apostles 
to pluck corn ; and priests are held blameless if the}^ profane that day. 
great multitudes follow jesus, and he healed them all, and also one 
possessed with a devil, blind and dumb ; and people asked if jesus was 
not the son of david. as the queen had allowed her fabled king david 
many wives, it is natural she should allow him several sons ; and as 
she had allowed jesus a ghost for his father, she states blasphemy 
against this ghost shall not be forgiven, and whosoever speaketh against 
this parent ghost shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the 
"world to come, the fable of a man being three days and nights in a 
■whale is referred to ; also the city of nineveh, that hath been repre- 
sented in the bible as containing an incredible population, who could 
not discern their right hand from their left, the mother and brethren 
of jesus desired to speak to him. 

CHAPTER xni. 

Jesus went into a ship and a multitude stood on shore, and he spake 
many things to them, which fill seven verses ; by which statement it 
appears the composer was not acquainted with the depths of ships, or 
the distance they need be from shore to have sufficient depth of water 
to float in. but, of course, she knew ships might come close enough to 
the docks in the thames for the people on board and those on shore to 
hear each other, she states, whomsoever hath, to him shall be given ; 
probably inwardly meaning, those who had sense enough to set her 



308 REVIEW OF 

fables at nought might gain, but to those who had not, that which they 
had should be taken from them ; which would be likely to take place 
with those who had not sense to discern the work she left was incon- 
sistent fiction, what they had would be taken from them by being 
stupefied with her zigzag fables, she also expresses herself unwilling 
people should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, the fabled 
kingdom of heaven is compared to a grain of mustard-seed ; and since 
it cannot be discovered by the powerful magnifying instruments now 
in use, it is reasonable to conclude it is yet smaller, two attempts the 
queen makes to take from her deluded superstitious subjects what sense 
they may have left, by threatening ta^es that some are to be cast into 
a furnace of fire, where shall be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of 
teeth. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

This chapter contains a fable of a damsel dancing before a king, and 
pleasing him so much that he had John's head cut ofi" to give her, ac- 
cording to her request, this is the same fabled John who hath been 
stated to be as exalted and great as jesus, who is stated to have fed 
about five thousand men, besides women and children, with five loaves 
and two small fishes, all the multitude, it is stated, were filled ; and 
this non-such kind of a son of mary also wal'is on the water to a ship 
that was in the midst of the sea, being tossed by the waves ; and when 
he and peter came into the ship the wind ceased, and they who were 
in the ship worshipped, saying, of a truth thou art the son of god ; and 
when they came to land, the people of the place collected all the dis- 
eased that could be found in the country around, and as many as touched 
the hem of his garments were made perfectly whole, surely those 
who set aside the evidence of their natural sense and reason, for the 
purpose of striving to believe such absurd fables as sacred truths, are 
in a fair way of losing what sense they have. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Blind leaders are treated of; and who can that sentence be better 
applied to than those who pretend to lead imaginary invisible spirits 
to imaginary invisible regions, both the blind and the blind leader, it 
is stated, shall fall into a ditch ; and experience hath shown that blind 
leaders have fallen into the ditch of licentiousness, while some who 
have been so blind as to be led by their doctrine have fallen into the 
ditch of insanity. 



MATTHEW. 309 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The fable of five thousand being fed with five loaves is referred to, 
and the twelve baskets full that were taken up after the multitude were 
filled, and again of filling baskets ; two pretences of such miracles 
having been inserted, one in the 14th chapter and one in the 15th. 

CHAPTEE, XVII. 

The composer states jesus took two men into a high mountain, and 
was transfigured before them ; and his face did shine as the sun, and 
his raiment was white as light, and the fabled murderer moses was 
talking with them, the composer, by this statement, plainly shows 
she was not sober enough to remember she had stated her hero of the 
books of moses was dead long ago, and making it appear as though he 
had written an account of his own birth, death, and burial, and speci- 
fied a period that people mourned for him, that long in the last chapter 
she attributes to him as being the author of. repetition is made of the 
fable that a voice was heard from aloft, saying, this is my beloved son,- 
in whom i am well pleased, no man was seen save jesus only, who 
<jharged them to tell the vision to no man. and there came to him a 
man kneeling down, saying, lord have mercy on my son, for he is a 
lunatic ; and jesus rebuked the devil, and the child was cured from 
that very hour ; and jesus tells his disciples they could not cast the 
devil out because of their unbelief, telling them, if they have faith as 
a grain of mustard-seed, they shall say to a mountain, remove yonder, 
and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible with you ; which 
shows the composer was not sober enough to remember her fable in 
the bible, that god drove out the inhabitants from the mountain, but 
could not drive out the inhabitants from the valley, because they had 
iron chariots. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The composer again strives to terrify her subjects, by stating it is 
better to cut oS" an offending hand or foot, and enter into life halt or 
maimed, rather than be cast into hell fire, the same she doth state, in 
the style of an inebriate, with respect to the eye. repetition is also 
made of the useless interrogatory about a lost sheep. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Reference is made to the commandment of moses the murderer 
respecting divorcement, eunuchs are treated of again, with Dretence 



310 REVIEW OF 

that some made themselves such for the kingdom of heaven's sake. 
the chapter is lengthened out by repetitions of part of the command- 
ments, as several others are, and repetitions of silly recommendations 
for people to follow jesus, such as, those who do so shall sit on twelve 
thrones as judges, and receive an hundred-fold, and inherit everlasting 
life, but experience hath shown that many who have been deluded 
to believe such fables true have either been half dead while they pos- 
sessed life or distracted in mind. 

CHAPTER XX. 

The fabled kingdom of heaven is compared to an householder ; and 
the story is revived of jesus touching eyes, and of their owners recover-^ 
ing sight immediately. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

A king, it is stated, came riding on an ass, and the people said, who 
is this ? and the multitude said, jesus of nazareth. jesus goes into the 
temple of god, overthrowing the tables of the money-changers and the 
seats of the dove-sellers, thus the queen shows she kept recollection 
of money. 

CHAPTER XXn. 

This chapter contains a fable of a marriage, and of some men telling 
jesus there is no resurrection ; and telling him moses said, if a man 
die and a brother marry his wife, and this one die, and so on until the 
"woman had seven brothers, whose wife should this woman be in the 
resurrection .'' 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

It is stated, jesus told people that two tribes sit in the seat of moses, 
and that they must do what these tell them, but not as they do, for they 
bind heavy burdens on men's backs, grievous to be borne, but will not 
use a finger to remove them ; they enlarge the borders of their garments, 
and love peculiar privileges ; woe, he says to them, calling them hyp- 
ocrites, and says, they make long prayers, and when ye make a prose- 
lyte, he is made more wicked by two-fold ; woe unto ye, blind guides. 
this fable appears to show that the queen composer, in a sober hour, did 
observe and know there were many praying hypocrites in her realm. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

It h stated, many false prophets shall arise who will deceive many. 



MATTHEW. 311 

this hath come plentifully to pass, and it is much to be hoped that peo- 
ple, in this age of science and improvement, will think and act more for 
themselves, and assume altogether a more becoming and manly attitude, 
as they need no better lesson than that constantly shown them by the 
operations of the various elements, ever aiding each other in the most 
true, agreeable, and useful manner pos^sible. every day and night, 
throughout all time, the flood fable is again referred to, and of drinking 
with the drunken. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

The queen likens her fabled heaven to ten virgins, after having com- 
pared it to many different things in the twentieth chapter, which is on 
par with the various names and traits of character she bestows on a 
king of that imaginary place, all nations, she states, are to be gathered, 
and assumes to know the king shall say so and so, and people say so 
and so, to that king. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

When jesus was in the house of simon the leper, a woman poured a 
box of ointment on his head, as he sat at meat, the composer doth often 
picture this hero as being a great favorite among the fair sex ; one fair 
maid that was said to be dead rising by him, taking her by the hand . 
but in this fable it is represented, while he spake a great multitude came, 
with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders, and one be- 
trayed him with a kiss, surely it is imperfect logic, and no credit to 
the composer of the fable, to pretend that an hostile multitude came in 
array against one preacher. 

CHAPTER XXVn. 

All the chief priests and elders, the composer doth state, took counsel 
against jesus to put him to death, this part of the fable maketh it ap- 
pear that the hero of the story must at least have acted contrary to the 
law of that nation, it is stated, under title of the fabled saint matthew, 
that jesus was crucified, and this set over his head : this is jesus, king 
of the jews. 

CHAPTEPu XXVni. 

As the sabbath began to dawn toward the first day of the week, two 
women came to see the sepulchre of jesus, and there was a great earth- 



312 REVIEW OF 

quake, and an angel rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it : 
his raiment was white as snow, according to angels wearing raiment, 
the composer of the fable ought to have been able, also, to fabricate 
some plan by which such phantoms manufacture cloth like man. the 
angel tells the women, come see the place where the lord did lay, and 
hurried them off like a conjurer, to tell he is risen from the dead ; and 
they run with fear and joy ; they met jesus and held him by the feet, 
jesus tells people all power is given unto him. the fable would have 
appeared more merciful, if it had an insertion that jesus had power to 
have saved himself from persecution and suffering. 

ST. MARK: CHAPTER I. 

It is pretended this is the beginning of the gospel of the son of god, 
although twenty-eight chapters, under the title of saint matthew, have 
preceded the fabled saint mark's story about the same son of mary ; 
and it appeared, in that first fabled saint's account, that the mother of 
this said-to-be son of god had other children besides the son of the 
ghost, the beheaded man, John, is revived with head on, and preaches 
baptism of repentance, repetition is also made of his costume of camel's 
hair and leather girdle, and that he eat locusts and wild honey ; which, 
to say the least of it, is rather funny, that such fabled, useless repeti- 
tions should be believed as sacred truths, in this age of science and 
improvement, while most children can read for them.selves, and if they 
read what some yet term holy, they cannot fail of being convinced that 
by far the largest part of what is termed holy is worse than useless ; 
serving principally to confuse and distract the minds of those who are 
either terrified by the dismal threats of everlasting burning, or wildly 
elated with hopes of imaginary bliss, to commence after they lose the 
breath of life and incorporate with earth, repetition is made of the 
various parts of the fable under the title of saint matthew, all answering 
the purpose of discouraging perusal, so that people may respect what 
is preached from selected texts. 

CHAPTER n. 

This chapter is a repetition of the stories told under the title of the 
fabled hero saint matthew. 

CHAPTER HI. • 

This chapter is also a repetition of saint matthew's fables, such as 
twelve men being ordained to preach and to cast out devils, &c., &c. 



ST. MARK. 313 

CHAPTER IV. 

This chapter is a repetition of parables, such as to him that hath 
shall be given, and to him that hath not that which he hath shall be 
taken away, &c. 

CHAPTEPv. V. 

This chapter is a repetition of the fable of a legion'of devils being 
cast out. this part of the fable differs in its statement about the afflicted 
or possessed ; treating of one man who could not be bound with chains, 
as he plucked them asunder and broke_^his fetters to pieces, and was 
always, night and day, cutting himself with stones in the mountains, 
surely now, poorly as children have been taught to read, they will see 
their ancestors have been grievously deluded indeed, all the devils, 
it is stated, besought jesus to send them into a herd of swine, jesus 
gave them leave, and they entered into the swine, and the swine ran 
violently down a steep into the sea, and about two thousand were choked 
in the sea. surely no one reader of this said-to-be sacred scripture, 
who strives to be guided by reason, can be able to form any other de- 
cision respectin^y it, but that its composer must have been under the 
influence of strong drink so to write or think, from the time of com- 
posing the similar fable under her hero saint matthew to the present 
one ; the two being as nearly alike as the memory of an inebriate would 
enable them to make two. 

CHAPTER YI. 

Is a repetition, also, of fables of st. matthew ; such as people asking 
if jesus was not the carpenter's son, and speaking of his four brothers, 
also of his sisters ; and of men casting out devils, and of John being be- 
headed by a king, according to the request of a damsel who had pleas- 
ed the monarch with dancing before him. both fables show the compo- 
ser of them was striving to make her subjects believe ancient monarchs 
were more cruelly arbitrary to their subjects than she and her ministers 
were to them ; which stj'le of composition forms a leading trait in the 
work she left for her chosen successor to publish as sacred and true. 

CHAPTER vn. 

Is a repetition, also, of part of the fables written under the title of st. 
matthew ; such as hypocrites, washing pots and cups, and referring to 
moses the fabled murderer and servant of god, so termed* 

21 



314 ' REVIEW OP 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Is a repetition of the fabled pretence of four thousand being fed with 
food only about enough for fourteen persons. 

<:hapter IX. 

This chapter is also a repetition of part of matthew's fables ; such 
as a man having a dumb spirit within him, that teareth him, and foam- 
eth, and gnasheth with his teeth, jesus tells the man's father all things 
are possible to him that believes ; the man says he believes, and jesus 
charged the spirit to come out ; then the dumb spirit cried and rent 
him sore, the plucking out of an eye, and cutting off a foot and hand, 
is again recommended as a preferable condition to be in, to enter into 
the kingdom of god, rather than the whole body should be cast into 
unquenchable fire. 

CHAPTER X. 

This chapter is also a repetition of fables, that jesus said it was 
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich 
man to enter into the kingdom of god. but this attempt of the queen, 
it is universally seen, does not retard men from striving to earn riches 
so much as slothful habits, and many bold professors of faith and belief 
of the said-to-be holy scriptures go beyond efforts of honest industry 
to obtain wealth. 

CHAPTER XL 

Repetition is made of the declaration that the kingdom of the fabled 
cruel king david was blessed, and of jesus riding on an ass, and of the 
fig-tree that he cursed withering ; which fable is on a par with the 
statement of god cursing the ground for adam's sake, soon after the 
statement that the same fabled invisible had made the ground, the 
inducement to get people to believe is again repeated ; assuring be- 
lievers they may command a mountain to be removed or cast into the 
sea, and if they do not doubt it shall come to pass, and he shall have 
whatsoever he saith. lack of sober reflection is surely here manifested 
by the composer of the fable^ 

CHAPTER Xn. 
This chapter is a repetition of the parable of a vineyard, &c. 



ST. LUKE. 315 

CHAPTER XIII. 

False prophets, and god's elect, and women with child are treated 
of, as they have been in matthew. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Repetition is made of the story of jesus being in the house of a leper, 
and a woman pouring ointment on his head as he sat at meat. 

CHAPTER XV.' 

This chapter contains a repetition of jesus being bound, accused, and 
giving no answer ; and of soldiers clothing him in purple and crowning 
him with thorns ; showing that the composer of the fable was acquainted 
with soldiers, and knew of her own crown beino; safe. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

This chapter is a repetition of the fable of two women that came 
with ointment to anoint the dead jesus in a sepulchre, and that they- 
saw the great stone was rolled from the door, and a man in long white 
robes sitting there, who tells them the dead had fled, behold the place 
where he laid ; and they trembled and fled also ; and jesus appeared to 
mary, whom he had cast seven devils out of after that he appeared 
in another form, so the composer doth state, in about as wild a style as 
any inebriate would such ridiculous stories fabricate ; and adds that he 
said, he that belie veth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that be- 
lieveth not shall be damned, they that believe in his name shall cast 
out devils, speak with new tongues, take up serpents, and deadly drink 
shall not hurt them, these statements, and the threats that unbelievers 
shall be cast into an everlasting burning lake of fire and brimstone, 
being embodied in a book that many millions of dollars are annually 
paid to men for preaching out of, and the respect that is shown them 
by fashionable persons all have, and have had for more than three cen- 
turies, an injurious delusive effect on weak, credulous minds, which 
lunatic hospitals bear sad evidence of in the melancholy state of their 
inmates. 

ST. LUKE: CHAPTER I. 

Contains a fable of a couple well stricken in years being told by an angel 
that the old barren wife should bear a son, and his name should be called 
John ; this fabled child is to be filled with the holy ghost at his birth, 
repetition is made of a part of the former fable of Joseph, mary, and her 



316 REVIEW OF 

son ; an angel, it is here stated, tells mary she shall bring forth a son, and 
tells what name it shall be called, and says, he shall reign over the house 
of Jacob forever ; and mary says to the angel, how can this be, since I 
know no man ? then a ghost is brought into requisition, and mary con- 
sents that it may befall her as the angel said, and hastily went into the 
hill country, she salutes elizabeth, whose unborn babe is represented to 
have leaped that instant ; and elizabeth, it is stated, w^as filled with the 
holy ghost, thus both babe and mother are stated to be filled with a 
ghost, as well as such a phantom being the father of mary's first child, 
before the young carpenter married her. the aged father of the fabled 
John is also filled with the holy ghost, repetition is made about the oath 
god sware to abraham, alias abram, the fabled gross deceiver, who became 
so rich as to live in such a monstrous house as to accommodate the 
parents of three hundred and eighteen of his trained soldiers, who were 
all born in his house, according to the composer's fable, the hero of 
this story was, like zecariah, childless, and of disordered imagination, 
although he was well stricken in years. 

CHAPTER II. 

All the world is to be taxed ; and all went to be taxed, every one, the 
labled Joseph and his spouse into the bargain, this plan, of course, suited 
the mind of the queen composer, as well as other monarchs, who 
would give her credit for forming the scheme, it is stated, shepherds 
found mary, Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger, which looks as 
though the composer of the fable only knew of stables by hearsay, and 
had never looked into her coach-house, or stable ; as mangers, being 
generally constructed for one horse to put his nose in while feeding, and 
would he inconveniently narrow for husband, wife, and child to rest 
comfortable together in, although the fabled jesus is represented to be 
marvellously exalted above all other babes, the composer represents 
him as being cruelly treated, as well as the two babes of the two old 
formerly barren couples, abraham and sarah, in genesis ; and zechariah, 
and elizabeth, in this chapter ; both stories plainly indicating that they 
are the production of a mind partially disordered from the same de])ri- 
vation of being fruitful, which is well known was the case with the 
queen who left the complication of fables, embodied in the bible and tes- 
tament. 

CHAPTER III. 
Soldiers are directed to be content with their wages, repetition is 



ST. LUKE. 317 

made of parts of the former fables about herod, herodias, and philip's 
wife, and of all the people ; and jesus being baptized, and the heavens 
being opened, and a voice coming from heaven, which said, thou art my 
beloved son, in whom i am well pleased, and jesus began to be about 
thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, in this 
one case the composer appears undecided, but she fills the fourteen 
following verses with positive declarations of who such and such ones 
were sons of. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Contains repetition of the fable of jesus eating nothing during forty 
days, and at the end of that period became hungry, and of the devil 
telling him to command stones to be bread, if he was the son of god ; 
which wild fable strongly indicates the composer felt conscious for a 
moment that she had too far exceeded the bounds of reason and truth 
in her fiction to expect respect for it from her subjects, the pretence 
that the fabled devil showed jesus all the kingdoms of the round globe 
from the top of a mountain, in a moment of time, is also repeated ; which 
indicates that the composer must have been wildly inspired from the 
time of writing her fables under the title of st. matthew, until she had 
finished the repetitions of them, in both st. mark and st. luke. it is 
stated, jesus cast an unclean devil out of a man, and rebuked a great 
fever that simon's wife's mother was taken with, and healed every sick 
and diseased person by laying his hands on them. 

CHAPTER V. 

Jesus enters a ship that is represented being so near shore that he 
could teach people who were not on board ; the men on board this ship 
let down their nets, and inclosed such a multitude of fishes, that their 
nets brake, and the men on board another ship helped them ; both ships, 
it is stated, weiefilled, so that they began to sink, jesus tells them not 
to fear, for henceforth they should catch men ; so they brought their 
ships to land, forsook all, and followed him. twenty-four following 
verses are filled with similar inconsistencies, all apparently intended to 
stupefy and delude weak-minded, credulous persons into belief that such 
a non-such as the composer of fiction hath bunglingly attempted to por- 
tray as possessing miraculous powers, must be believed to save them 
from being cast into unquenchable fire ; the fable ending with remarks 
about bottles, new wine and old wine, the composer allowing old wine 
was the best. 



318 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTEPv. VI. 



Contains re}>etition of the fable of it being only lawful for priests to eat 
show-bread on the sabbath, and of jesus praying all night, which a sober 
authoress would consider injurious to insert ; but it is nearly on a par 
v/ith the fable of jesus living forty days and nights without sustenance. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Like the greater part of mark and luke, thus far is repetition of incon- 
sistent fables stated in matthew ; such as instantly healing sick and dis- 
eased persons, and raising the dead. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Mary magdalene, it is again stated, had seven devils cast out of her. 
repetition is also made of the shameful wild fable of a wild naked man 
having a legion of devils cast out of him that entered into an herd of 
swine, and that these pigs ran into w^ater and were drowned, the fables 
in matthew being most of them thrice inserted, appear about as near 
alike as it is reasonable to expect a wine-bibber could make them. 

CHAPTER IX. 

This chapter contains a repetition of the fable that jesus gave twelve 
men authority over all devils, and also of other inconsistent statements 
inserted in the chapters of saint matthew. 

CHAPTER X. 

Seventy men tell jesus devils are subject to them through his name ; 
which statement adds to the exposure the composer hath shown through 
all her fables respecting her principal hero of the testament, that her 
aim hath been to enforce belief into the minds of her subjects that 
such a man actually existed and possessed unnatural and miracu- 
lous powers, and that they would suffer forever if they did not be- 
lieve so. 

CHAPTER XI. 

A man was so polite as to invite jesus to dine with him, and when 
he discovered jesus had not washed before dinner he marvelled, cast- 
ing out devils, and several other repetitions, are inserted in this 
chapter. 



ST. LUKE. 319 

CHAPTER XII. 

Sparrows and farthings are again treated of : which correspond with 
the confession contained in the bible preface, that' queen elizabeth left 
the work that the bible now in use was printed from, as sparrows are 
in greater abundance in the city where farthings are coined arid its 
vicinity, than they have for centuries been known to be anywhere else ; 
which city was also the residence of queen elizabeth, the composer of 
the book, and also the residence of king james, the publisher, as 
acknowledged also in the bible preface. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

It is stated, a woman that was bowed together, and had been so 
afflicted eighteen years, was made immediately straight by having a 
pair of hands laid on her and being told she was loosed, repetition is 
made of an imaginary invisible kingdom being like a grain of mustard 
seed, several other inconsistent insertions of saint matthew are also 
repeated. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

People that make a feast, dinner, or supper, are directed to call the 
poor, maimed, lame, and blind, and not their kinsmen, friends, or rich 
neighbors, twelve verses are filled with statements of invitations and 
excuses for not accepting invitations to supper, in this said-to-be holy 
chapter. 

CHAPTER XV. 

This chapter contains a parable of a lost sheep, and of a piece of 
silver, and of a prodigal son. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The first thirteen verses contain a parable about a steward, the next 
five verses something about putting a wife away and marrying another, 
and the rest part is a parable of a rich man and a beggar. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Some men request to have their faith increased, and ten lepers are 
said to be healed ; they were directed to show themselves to the priest, 
and as they went they were cleansed, so states the queen ; which, 
together with the numerous insertions she hath embodied in her work, 
makes it appear she had seen many lepers in high life. 



3j20 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Parables and repetitions fill this chapter. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

A little rich publican wanted jesus to see, 

But could not because he was much press'd ; 

So he ran before all the rest, 

And climb'd into a sycamore tree. 

Jesus bade him make haste and come down. 

Telling him he must abide at his house in town ; 

So the rich man of small stature, 

To amend all the matter, 

Hurried down from the tree, jesus to see. 

And received him most joyfully. 

And when both departed for dinner. 

People murmur'd, saying, jesus made guest with a sinner. 

CHAPTER XX. 

'' Some people come to jesus who deny that there is any resurrection, 
which hath been twice stated before in the work, other repetitions 
fill up the chapter. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

People are told that when a city is encompassed by armies desolation 
is nigh, and not to let country people enter therein, and to watch and 
pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape, but it is 
more than probable, had the composer of the fable found london encom- 
passed by any other armies than her own red backs, she would have 
preferred escaping quickly in a well-armed and well-manned man-of- 
war vessel, rather than to have depended on obtaining relief or safety 
by praying for it ; but recommendation of prayers might answer her 
well enough to delude her subjects with. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

It is stated jesus gave some men bread and told them it was his 
body, and after supper showed a cup, saying, this is my blood ; and 
there was strife among them about which should be accounted the 
greatest. 



ST. JOHN. 321 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

This chapter is filled with repetitions about the fabled mary's eldest 
son. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

This chapter contains a repetition respecting the fabled stone and 
sepulchre ; and instead of an angel in white garments, now the com- 
poser's fancy leads her to substitute two men in shining garments stand- 
ing at the door of the sepulchre, jesus, it is stated, rose from the 
sepulchre, sat at meat with some men, broke bread, and gave them 
some ; he then vanished, afterward, as they spoke, he stood in the 
midst of them, spake again to them, and asked for meat ; they gave 
him a piece of broiled fish and an honeycomb, and he did eat before 
them, and was carried up to the place that is compared to a grain of 
seed. 

SAINT JOHN : CHAPTER I. 

This fabled saint, it is stated, was sent from god that all men through 
him might believe, he declares the law was given by moses, and tells 
a contrary story to the fabled lawgiver, murderer, and servant of god, 
saying, no man hath seen god at any time, after moses hath stated and 
represented, in numerous instances, that god spake to him, and that he 
conversed with such a personage, and that after holding conversation 
often with it, and receiving many commands from it to convey or trans- 
fer to the people, on one occasion it clapped him in the cleft of a rock, 
and covered him with its hand as it passed by, only allowing moses to 
see its hinder parts, declaring no man should see its face and live ; 
which, of course, did not prohibit the fair sex from observing and ex- 
amining its face, if they could find such a represented august body ; on 
account of which fable, it is not wonderful that many more females 
than men visit the buildings that some term the house of god. jesus 
promises a man that he shall see heaven open, and angels ascending 
and descending upon the son of man. surely this would be a droll 
mode of conveyance. 

CHAPTER II. 

The mother of jesus was at a marriage ; jesus and some men were 
called thither, and it is stated jesus turned many gallons of water into 
wine, many repetitions are made of fables inserted in raatthew ; such 
as people being driven out of a temple, tables being overthrown, pouring 



322 REVIEW OF 

out money, &c. the statement is contradicted that a power full of 
mercy and loving-kindness, possessing might and wisdom, created man 
in its own image and likeness ; and after commanding Joshua and 
abraham, alias abram, to cut off a piece of each man-child, still to re- 
quire that the}'" should all be born anew before they could even see its 
kingdom, looks more likely to be the command of an earthly, tyrannical, 
cruel monarch, than it does of any invisible kind lord or creator. 

CHAPTER III. 

A man tells jesus that the jews know he is a teacher from god, for 
no one else could do such miracles as he does, this only shows that 
the composer of the fable had noticed the manner in which her credu- 
lous subjects had been made to believe the tricks of agility, sleight of 
hand, or actions of actors of legerdemain which had, in reality, been 
performed by them, and that she could hold them in surveillance the 
better by stupefying them, in boldly stating that impossible transactions 
had been performed by an invisible spirit, of whose existence they never 
could discover any reality, the fabled murderer and servant of god is 
again and again referred to in numerous chapters of the book styled the 
new testament, and many repetitions made of the same actions that are 
attributed to him both before he was born and afterwards, such as moses 
lifting a serpent and being in the wilderness, and most of the improbable 
performances that are attributed to him in the bible ; showing proof 
that the books were formed from one disordered mind. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Jesus, sitting on a well, asked a woman to give him some water to 
drink ; the woman tells him the well is deep, and he hath nothing to 
xiraw with, jesus tells her to call her husband ; she informs him she 
hath none, and told him she knew he was a prophet, jesus tells her 
he is messiah, and that salvation cometh of the jews, this was claim- 
ing incredible power for his reputed people, the woman, who could 
not draw water for want of a vessel to draw with, left her ' water-pot 
and travelled off to the city. 

CHAPTER V. 

It is stated, a great multitude of impotent folk lay waiting by the 
si de of a pool for the moving of its water, for an angel troubled it at a 
ce rtain season, and then the first one that stepped in was made whole. 



ST. JOHN. 323 

thus hath the queen composer shown, throughout the work she left, 
that she considered her subjects such credulous, weak-minded beings, 
that she could make them believe what she wrote ; and the composi- 
tion of that she left for her successor to publish strongly indicates that 
she must have composed it under the inspiration of strong drink, and 
the numerous repetitions evidently amount to strong circumstantial 
proof that she used no sober reflection during intervening periods of 
writing ; otherwise she would have destroyed a great part ; and it can 
only be reasonable to decide that her work was given to the printer to 
puzzle it out letter by letter, for if it had been examined it might have 
been made better. 

CHAPTER VI. 

This chapter contains a repetition of the fable of five thousand being 
fed with five loaves and two small fishes, and twelve baskets full of 
fragments being left. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

Repetition is made of the fable of jesus teaching in a temple, and of 
people expressing different opinions respecting him. 

CHAPTER vni. 

Jesus tells men that they cannot come where he goes ; they tell him 
he bears record of himself, and the jews ask him if he is not a Samar- 
itan, with a devil. 

CHAPTER IX. 

This is a fable of a man born blind receiving sight by clay and spittle 
ointment being once put on his eyes and washed off. 

CHAPTER X. 

Jews were divided again in their opinions about jesus. many said, 
he hath a devil and is mad, why hear ye him .'' 

CHAPTER XI. 

Jesus loved martha and her sister, it is not wonderful that a man at 
the age of thirty should love young ladies, the fable represents that a 
brother of these lovely ladies had been buried four days ; and martha 
went out to meet jesus, and informed him of her bereavement ; jesus 
tells her lazarus shall rise again, mary, also, doth jesus greet by falling 



324 REVIEW OF 

at his feet ; and the miraculous resurrectionist asks where the corpse 
is laid, he was shown, and a stone being over the cave, he commanded 
it to be removed, and cried aloud, lazarus, come forth! and he came 
forth, then jesus gave command to loose him and let him go. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Mary, one of the ladies whom jesus loved, anoints his feet with a 
pound of very costly spikenard ointment, surely the composer of the 
fable must have imagined her fabled jesus had feet larger than any 
giant, one man asks why the ointment was not sold for three hundred 
pence, and given to the poor, this, it is stated, he said, not because he 
cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag, and 
bare what was put in it. such useless fables cannot be made to appear 
as holy truths. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

This is a fable about washing feet and drying them with a towel, 
and of one man leaning on mary's son, and of a sop being dipped and 
given to a man, and then satan entered into him. this man is the one 
reputed^to have had a bag. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Jesus talks much about his father, philip tells jesus to show his 
father, and that would suffice. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Jesus tells people he is the true vine, and they are clean through the 
word he hath spoken, again he tells people he is the vine, and they 
are branches. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

It is stated that some people think they do good service by killing 
those who differ from them in opinion, this hath often been verified to 
a terrible extent by professors of religion, travailing women are also 
treated of, and jesus is stated to say, do ye now believe ? thus adding 
more inconsistency to the effort of making belief of great importance. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

It is stated, jesus requested his father to glorify him with the glory 
which he had with his father before the world was ; which statement, 



ST. JOHN. 325 

taken in connection with the one in the second chapter of matthew, 
that jesus was born of a woman, manifestly forms as inconsistent a 
fabrication as could be imagined by any inebriate, jesus tells his father 
he hath sanctified himself for people's sake, this power of self-sancti- 
fying the queen composer hath occasionally bestowed on heroes of her 
fables, from her books of moses to the present chapter, it is also pre- 
tended that jesus tells his father that he hath given people the glory it 
gave to him, that they may be one ; and that he wants people to behold 
his glory ; and tells his father, thou lovedst me before the foundation 
of the world, and the world hath not known thee, my father. 

CHAPTER XVIir. 

This chapter contains a repetition of the fable about judas betraying 
chiist, peter denying him, and of his trial. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

This is a fable of soldiers platting a crown of thorns and putting it 
on the head of jesus, and smiting him ; and of jesus coming forth thus 
crowned, in a purple robe, bearing a cross ; and of his crucifixion, with 
the title of jesus of nazareth, king of the jews. 

CHAPTER XX. 

This chapter is a repetition of a fabled resurrection of the son of a 
mary, and of a woman running and telling some men that the body was 
taken away, two angels, this time, are stated to have been seen sitting 
in white ; but in a former story of this fable it is stated, a man sittino- 
there, with long white robe, and in another edition of the fable, a per- 
son with shining garments, the four editions of the fables, on exami- 
nation, appear as near alike as inebriates in general would be likely to 
fabricate. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Simon says, i go a fishing ; others say, we go too. a net is cast into 
the sea, and so many fish caught that the men could not pull it in ; and 
simon being naked, girt his fishing-coat on and cast ^himself into the 
sea, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, one hundred and fiftv- 
three, yet the net was not broken ; and jesus said, come and dine : and 
as a former fable allowed jesus the power of turning water into wine, 
here, it may to the credulous appear, was a good opportunity to feed a 



326 REVIEW OF 

hundred, a thousand, or more, and also of fragments leave great store, 
besides a large stock of wine conjured out of ocean brine, it is stated, 
after they had dined, jesus asked simon if he loved him. this is re- 
peated twice more ; and the principal part of the fables under the titles 
of mark, luke, and John, are repetitions of those that form the book 
under the title of the gospel according to saint matthew. 

ACTS: CHAPTER I. 

Commandments are stated to have been given through the holy ghost, 
and that jesus tells people they shall receive power, after the holy ghost 
hath come on them ; and a cloud received him out of their sight, then 
two men in white asked them why they stood gazing, so they went into 
an upper room and supplicated with v/omen ; and peter said the number 
were about one hundred and twenty. 

CHAPTER, II. 

Cloven tongues appeared and sat on each of them, and they were all 
filled with the holy ghost, and began speaking with other tongues ; and 
the multitude were confounded, because every man spake in his own 
language, some said they were full of wine, but peter said they were 
not drunken, and god said, sons, daughters, hand-maids, and servants 
should prophecy, young men shall see visions, and old men dream 
dreams, much as the queen hath striven, through her work, to impress 
on the minds of her subjects that a god or universal ruler was known, 
the inconsistencies and boldness of her fables hath only given proof that 
she did not keep aloof, while writing them, from wine. 

CHAPTER III. 

Peter and john fasten their eyes on a man that had been a cripple from 
his birth ; they lift him up, and immediately his feet and ancles received 
strength, and he walked and leaped, thus the composer again and again 
boldly strives to make her subjects believe some elect men possess un- 
natural power, as well as her fabled invisible spirits. 

CHAPTER IV. . 

It is stated peter was filled with the holy ghost, and that the multi- 
tude saw both him and john were bold, ignorant men, and asked what 
they should do to them ; and commanded them not to teach in the name 
of jesus. david is referred to as being the servant of god ; and when 
prayer was ended, the place was shaken where they were assembled, 



ACTS. 327 

and all were filled with the holy ghost, and spake the word of god with 
boldness, so states the wine-bibbing composer ; and also that as many 
as were possessors of lands and houses sold them, and laid the treasure 
at the fabled apostle's feet. 

CHAPTER V. 

One man asks another why satan filled his heart to lie to the holy 
ghost, and keep back part of the price of the land ; the accused man fell 
down and gave up the ghost, the w*ife also gives up the ghost in like 
manner, surely the composer must have been as stupid as a post while 
fabricating such nonsense. 

CHAPTER VI. 

A multitude of disciples direct their brethren to look out seven men 
full of the holy ghost, to see to business, and say, they will give them- 
selves up to prayer continually, the queen, of course, knew that it was 
necessary some should be kept strictly to business, if a multitude were 
to be supported without earning their bread by labor, she twice states 
the number of disciples increased ; then, of course, the business men need 
to increase their exertions to support them. 

CHAPTER vn. 

Contains many quotations from the books of moses ; such as god com- 
manding moses to pull off his shoes, and of moses killing a man ; the 
fable of the red sea ; and of abraham and his son isaac ; circumcision ; 
king pharaoh and his daughter, and a church in the wilderness ; golden 
calf; an angel appearing to moses in a burning bush, &c. 

CHAPTER Vm. 

King saul, who has for ages past been recorded as dead, is treated of 
as consenting to the death of Stephen, who, it is stated in last chapter, 
was stoned to death, and also making great havoc with the church, 
hailing men and women in every house, committing them to prison, 
then philip preached christ, and people gave heed to the miracles he 
did ; for unclean, loud bawling spirits came out of many, and many pal- 
sied and lame persons were healed, surely if every one who preaches 
about christ could effect such miraculous cures, people would yet have 
sufficient reason to believe such preaching was for general good ; but 
experience hath long shown that such unnatural aid hath not been 



328 REVIEW OF 

known that elizabeth so w^ildly hath written, and so carelessly left for 
her successor to publish, she states that all the people, from the least to 
the greatest, said, this man is the great power of god. and when they 
heard philip preach christ, they were all baptized; one man offers 
money to have some power of the holy ghost bestowed on him from 
others, who he sa wconvey it to people by laying their hands on them ; 
the man he made the offer to tells him he hath neither part or lot in the 
ghost, an angel tells one of the christ preachers to arise ; he obeys, and 
saw an ethiopian eunuch of great authority under the queen of the ethi- 
opeans, who had charge of her treasure returning from worship, sitting 
in his chariot reading esaias the prophet, a spirit tells philip to join 
the chariot ; philip ran and heard the eunuch read ; the eunuch invites 
him into his chariot ; then philip opened his mouth and preached jesus, 
and told the eunuch, if he believed with all his heart, he might also do 
so ; the eunuch answered, I believe jesus christ is the son of god. the 
eunuch commands the chariot to stand still ; both go into water, and 
philip baptizes the eunuch ; and the spirit of the lord caught away phil- 
ip, and the eunuch saw him no more, this fable doth manifestly show 
that queen elizabeth felt conscious of eunuchs being the least dangerous, 
and the most proper attendants and treasurers for dissipated queens like 
herself, and the legerdemain style of philip's flight, that she palms on 
her subjects as an holy truth, could only have been formed in her ima- 
gination from her frequent attentions to theatrical performances. 

CHAPTER IX. 

King saul, who hath been an hero of many fables in the bible, and 
long before the end of that book is recorded as being slain by the sword, 
now travels to see a priest, and commands that all men and women who 
may be found on the way should be bound and brought to Jerusalem, 
suddenly he saw a light shining round him from heaven, and heard a 
cry of, saul why persecutest thou me ? he fell to the earth and said, 
who art thou, lord ? and the lord said, i am jesus. saul asks what it 
would have him do ; the lord told him to go^ to the city and it should 
be told him w^hat he should do ; and the men that were with him stood 
speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no one ; neither did saul, who 
neither ate nor drank for three days, the lord, it is^ stated, called to 
another man in a vision, who said, behold i am here, the lord tells 
him to go into the street called strait, for a man was praying there, and 
had seen in a vision another man. surely, if people would read these 



THE ACTS. 329 

inconsistent silly fables, they would easily discern that the characters 
treated of in them are altogether fabulous ; and that, instead of contri- 
buting to support youths while training as preachers of them, being ho- 
ly truths, and as having been written under the inspiration of a supe- 
rior power to man, they would soon get convinced that they have been 
fabricated by a disordered imagination, under the inspiration of strong 
drink, by a monarch who aimed to stupefy the minds of her subjects, 
saul is let down in a basket from a wall, like the two men in one of 
the bible fables were, by an harlot who lived on the town wall. 

CHAPTER X. 

A man, it is stated, saw, in a vision evidently, about the ninth hour 
of the day, an angel of god coming to him and speaking his name, it 
commanded him to send men to joppa for simon, saying, he lodgeth 
with a tanner by the sea side (this is stated again) ; he shall tell thee 
what to do, the man calls two of his household servants, and a de- 
vout soldier who continually waited on him ; simon, whose surname 
was peter, goes to the house-top to pray, about the sixth hour, falls in 
a trance, sees heaven open, and a vessel descending to him like a great 
sheet, wherein was all manner of beasts, fowls, and creeping things ; 
and a voice came to him, saying, rise, peter, kill and eat ; and if it were 
possible that a glimpse of truth could be accredited to the fable, then all 
persons might acknowledge that a sheet of plenty once existed, the 
composer states, the spirit told peter, three men seek thee, go with them, 
for i have sent them ; one man falls down at peter's feet and worshipped 
him, and while peter spake, the holy ghost fell on all who heard him. 
surely here is proof that the composer did not keep aloof from wine 
while she fabricated this fable, no more than she did while writing those 
that have preceded it through her work thus far. 

CHAPTER XI. 

This chapter contains repetitions of parts of the preceding chapters, 

about the sheet loaded like the fabled ark in genesis, and of the voice 

crying to peter, slay and eat ; which command would have been more 

appropriate for the lion of the forest, who is also represented to have 

been in the sheet for peter to eat, as well as the lion and lamb ; but it 

appears it was necessary peter should slay and eat quick, although he 

might have been somewhat .sick, as he had just arisen from a trance, 

for the raotly group in the sheet, as it is stated, all were so happily 

fated as to be drawn into heaven again. 

22 



330 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XII. 

The fabled peter is represented as being in prison, and an angel came 
upon him, smote him, and raised him up ; and his chains fell from his 
hands, the angel, captain-like, commands peter to gird himself with 
sandals, put on a garment, and march after it ; peter obeys, and thought 
he saw a vision, an iron gate of a city opened itself; the couple pass 
through a street, and the commander disappeared, peter knocks at the 
door of a gate ; and a damsel appeared, ran to the house, and peter stood 
at the gate, it is represented she was overjoyed at the sight of peter ; 
she is told, thou art mad ! and that it was an angel by the gate, king 
herod is also restored to life, sitting on a throne, in this fable, as well 
as saul in the ninth chapter. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

As some men ministered to the lord and fasted, a ghost said, separate 
me barnabus and saul for the work i have called them to. so they, 
being sent by a ghost, departed and sailed to Cyprus, and preached the 
word of god, and had John for their minister ; which story maketh it 
to appear that the beheaded preacher John had again got his head fas- 
tened on, but a sorcerer sought to turn away the deputy, then saul 
whom people also called paul, filled with a ghost, set his eyes on the 
sorcerer, and tells him he shall be blind, and he immediately was un- 
der the necessity to seek for a leader ; then the deputy was astonished 
at the doctine of the lord, surely every philanthropist must be sor- 
rowfully astonished to see so many well-meaning members of society 
so grievously deluded as to believe doctrines preached from such shame- 
ful books true or useful. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Many disbelieve the fabled gospel, others boldly preach it, and the 
multitude of the city were divided, next comes repetition of the fable 
of a man lame from his birth, who never had walked, being made able 
to instantly walk and leap by a loud bawl from the fabled st. paul y 
and when the people saw what paul had done, they said gods had come 
down in the likeness of men ; and in the eighth verse preceding this, the 
composer states people stoned paul, and drew him out of the city for 
dead ; and similar zigzag contradictory style of composition is to be 
found in many of the fables that form the work left by queen elizabeth, 
showing plainly her mental faculties were distracted and her memory 
impaired. 



THE ACTS. 331 

CHAPTER XV. 

Men are told, except they are circumcised after the manner of mo- 
ses they cannot be saved, this is one of the numerous absurdities that 
show to the reasonable, observing readers that it is an injury to man- 
kind to have such books palmed on them as sacred and true, and youths 
educated to preach from them as such ; for we find in this said-to-be 
holy chapter the statement that men cannot be saved if they remain 
as an all-wise power, as stated in the book, made them ; no, they must 
have a piece cut from them ; and in Joshua it is stated, the spirit that 
man created, as pretended twice in genesis, or once created man, and 
afterwards made the same mr. adam, this double former of man, it is 
stated tells Joshua to make sharp knives and perform the operation 
a second time on his fellow-beings, surely the book ought to be im- 
mediately put out of use for the benefit of mankind. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

A Jewess had a son, and paul would have this one and cut a piece off 
him ; and they delivered decrees, and so were the churches established 
in the faith and increased in number, and a vision appeared to paul in 
the night, and he felt assured the lord had called him to preach, and 
a woman who sold purple and worshipped god attended to the bawl of 
saint paul ; and when she was baptized, constrained paul and his com- 
panion whom he had used the knife on to abide in her house ; and as 
all went to prayer they saw a damsel there who had brought her master 
much gain by soothsaying, and she followed the gallant saint paul 
many days, her master then caught paul, and silas his companion, 
and brought them to the magistrate, and the multitude rose up against 
them ; and they and the magistrates rent their clothes off", and beat the 
two preachers with many stripes, and cast them into prison, and the 
jailor made their feet fast in the stocks, they pray, and a great earth- 
quake shakes the foundation of the prison, the doors opened, and all 
bands were loosened ; and the keeper of the prison waked, drew his 
sword, and would have killed himself, but paul did loudly bawl, — do 
thyself no harm, we are all here ; then he sprang in trembling, and fell 
down before paul, and said, what must I do to be saved .'' paul and silas 
say, believe, the magistrates send Serjeants to let paul and silas go; 
but paul said, no, let them fetch us out. surely every unprejudiced 
observer of this fable must be able to distinctly discern that it is the 
composition of a disordered mind. 



332 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Many women believed paul, but some men gathered a great company 
of base lewd fellows, and set all the city in an uproar ; and paul was 
sent off to sea. some philosophers call paul a babbler, and say he 
setteth forth strange gods, and ask him what is the meaning of his 
strange doctrine ; some ridiculed the doctrine of resurrection, and told 
him they would hear him again on the matter ; but paul departs from 
among them. The chapter contains thirty-three verses of similar 
composition. 

[CHAPTER XVIIL 

Paul finds a jew and his wife, who had been sent out of rome, who 
were tent-makers ; and the lord spake to paul in the night by a vision, 
and told him not to hold his peace ; and when paul was about to open 
his mouth, gallio said, if it were matter of wrong or lewdness, then it 
would be reasonable to bear with him. by an attentive perusal, it can 
be discerned that a large portion of the fables throughout the bible and 
testament are founded on dreams. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Paul inquires of a party of men if they had received the holy ghost 
since they believed ; they say they have not heard of any ghost ; which 
statement makes it appear as though the composer felt conscious she 
had inserted too many inconsistencies about such a phantom ; but she 
again plucks up bold courage enough to state, the holy ghost came on 
people when paul laid his hands on them, and that they prophecied ; 
and, from apparently considering her subjects so much stupefied with 
her wild fables that they might think many others were without tongues, 
she states that those who had the ghost come on them spoke with 
tongues. 

CHAPTER XX. 

On the first day of the week paul preached until midnight, and a 
man fell asleep in the window, fell, and was taken up for dead, paul 
did fall on him, and said there was life in him, and when he had eaten 
and talked till day-break the young man was alive, paul kneels and 
prays, and the people all wept sore and fell on paul's neck and kissed 
him. surely the queen composer felt funny enough inclined to bestow 
such a load on paul's neck, and kisses in plenty beside. 



THE ACTS. ' 533 

CHAPTER XXI. 

A launch, a voyage, a landing, and unlading a ship, — and of a party 
leaving a city and being brought to a shore, kneeling down there and 
praying, then taking ship again and returning home, and entering into 
the house of a fabled evangelist who had four prophecying daughters, 
the party driving oflf in their carriages, and many other odd affairs are 
treated of. 

CHAPTER XXn. 

Paul tells people he is a jew, and zealous towards god, and that he 
persecuted men and women, binding them, and delivering them to pri- 
son and death, the former fable of a light from heaven shining round 
paul is repeated, and of his hearing a voice saying, saul, why persecutest 
thou me, and of paul asking the lord who it was, and of the lord con- 
descending to inform him he was jesus ; all showing that the queen 
composer had been too much of a doser to remember she had written 
the same before. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Paul boasts that he had lived in good conscience before god ; then a 
high-priest commanded him to be smote on the mouth ; then paul tells 
this priest god shall smite him, calling him a whited wall ; which shows 
the composer was not in a condition to be able to compose with reason, 
to represent her paul so boldly to bawl against a high-priest, who pos- 
sessed great power. 

CHAPTER XXrV. 

The high-priest who ordered a man to smite paul on the mouth 
descends with an orator, who informed the governor that paul was , a 
pestilential fellow, and a mover of sedition among the jews throughout 
the world, and a ringleader of the nazarenes, and hath gone about to 
profane the temple. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Festus, sitting on the judgment-seat, commands paul to be brought, 
twenty-seven verses are filled with statements that amount to nought. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Paul asks why it should be thought incredible for the dead to be 



334 REVIEW OF 

raised, repetition is again made about a light, brighter than the sun, 
shining round the fabled paul, and of a mysterious voice saying, sauI, 
why persecutest thou me ? and of saul asking w^ho it was, and of the 
lord answering, jesus, and of the lord telling saul it had appeared for 
the purpose of making him a minister and a witness ; and paul tells 
the king he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, and as he 
spake, festus did bawl unto paul, telling him much learning had made 
him mad. paul says, no, it is not so. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Paul tells all that were on board a ship with him that an angel of 
god stood by him that night, saying, fear not, paul, thou must be brought 
before csesar, and god hath given thee all them who sail with thee ; be 
of good cheer, for i believe it shall be as hath been told me ; but we 
must be cast on an island ; and he tells them not a hair of their head 
shall fall from any of them, prophecies without number have been 
inserted in both bible and testament, with pretence, sometimes in the 
same fable, and very frequently in the course of a chapter or two fol- 
lowing, that they came to pass, apparently for the express purpose of 
deluding weak minds. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Paul made a fire of sticks ; a viper came out of the heated sticks 
and fastened on his hand ; he shook it off into the fire ; and the com- 
poser states that people looked long, expecting paul would swell or 
drop down dead suddenly, and seeing no harm come to him, they said 
he was a god. and paul laid his hand on a man who was dangerously 
ill, and prayed, and healed him ; and others came and were healed, and 
paul expounded and testified the kingdom of god, out of the law of 
moses and the prophets, from morning till evening ; and a ghost spake 
by a prophet ; and paul dwelt in his own hired house two years, preach- 
ing and teaching the kingdom, of god, and those things that concern 
jesus, with confidence, here, again, it is plain to be seen that the com- 
posing queen strives to make her deluded subjects believe that a man, 
under the title of prophet, could perform acts contrary to nature, and 
such as are known to be impossibilities ; and the fable of a viper com- 
ing out of sticks, and a multitude of people standing gaping at a man 
who had shaken a reptile from his hand that came out of a stick, with 
expectation he would swell or suddenly die, is certainly an imperfect 



ROMANS. i 335 

mode of making people believe the man was a god because he received 
no harm, such logic would scarcely be used by any one sober enough 
to walk or run. 

ROMANS : CHAPTER I. 

Much is stated about god in this chapter, but no pretence is made 
that any god or lord spake one word, some indecency is stated about 
women and men in the 26th and 27th verses. 

CHAPTER II. 

Paul talks about a day when god shall judge the secrets of men 
according to paul's gospel, but does not pretend god spake a word. 

CHAPTER III. 

Paul says, let god be true, and asks if its truth' hath abounded more 
through his lie, and says, there is none that understandeth or seeketh 
after god, but does not pretend that god said a word. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The gross deceitful abraham, alias abram, is referred to as believing 
god, and that it was accounted to him for righteousness'; but does not 
pretend god spake a word of the chapter. 

CHAPTER V. 

Adam, the pretended first man, who, the composer stated in the first 
chapter of genesis, was created, and on account of forgetting that state- 
ment while writing the next chapter, declared he was then made out 
of dust, and his wife out of one of his ribs ; although she had stated, 
in the first chapter, that the woman and man were both created instanter^ 
no sooner said than done, god, jesus, and ghostare again treated of; 
but no pretence is made of any god speaking a word of the chapter. 

CHAPTER VI. 

It is not pretended that any word of this chapter was spoken by any 
lord, god, or ghost. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Contains repetitions of part of a fable, under the title of the books of 
moses, respecting husband and wife, but not one word of any pretence 
that any god spake a word. 



336 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The fabled paul asks who shall lay anything to the charge of god's 
elect ; and the word god is inserted eighteen times, without pretence 
that it said a word. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Jesus Christ, god, and ghost are, as usual, treated of; one or other of 
the unmeaning tales being inserted in most of the thirty-three verses, 
without pretence of any god or lord speaking a word. 

CHAPTER X. 

The composer strives again to make her subjects believe they would 
be in danger of being doomed to torture if they did not believe in her 
fabled saviour ; and if they confess with their mouth the lord jesus, 
and believe in heart that the lord raised him from the dead, they shall 
be saved ; but no pretence is made that any lord or god spake a word. 

CHAPTER XI. 

The composer assumes to know much about a god, without pretend- 
ing it spake a word. v 

CHAPTER XII. 

It is pretended a lord said vengeance was his ; but it is not pretended 
god spake a word. 

CHAPTER xni.; 

No pretence is made that any lord or god spake a word. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The words lord, god, and ghost are inserted in most of the twenty- 
three verses, but no pretence that either spake a word. 

CHAPTER XV. 

No pretence is made that god spake. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Paul recommends that julia, nereus and sister, and other saints, salute 
one another with a holy kiss, but does not pretend any lord or god 
spake, thus fifteen chapters in succession, where continued bold assump. 



I. CORINTHIANS. 337 

tions of knowing much about a god, and a son of such a supposed in- 
visible spirit, are inserted, the composer hath omitted fabricating any 
story under pretence that any part was the word of such an invisible, 
which is the case with the whole of the book of esther, in the bible, 
although many publicly declare the bible and testament to be the word 
of god. 

I. CORINTHIANS : CHAPTER I. 

The composer states, it pleased god, by the foolishness of preaching, 
to save them that believe ; which plainly shows the queen's mind was 
distracted, or she would not thus have ridiculed preaching, while she 
was striving, in the same work, to make her subjects believe preaching 
and believing was of greater importance to them than all their concerns 
of life, but god, she states, hath chosen foolish things to confound 
people, this, she must have felt conscious, was what she had done 
and was doing, she acknowledges things that are not have been chosen 
to bring to nought things that are. this, of course, she was well aware 
of, — that fables of imaginary spirits and regions were bringing to nought 
people's attention to things of reality and their most important duties ; 
but she does not pretend that any god spake a word of the chapter. 

CHAPTER II. 

A god, a ghost, and discerning things spiritually are treated of; but 
it is not pretended any lord, god, or ghost spake a word. 

CHAPTER III. 

The word god is inserted many times, but it is not pretended it spake. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Paul says he thinks god hath set forth us (the apostles), but it is 
not pretended it spake. 

[CHAPTER V. 

Paul says it is reported there are fornications among his congrega- 
tion, but does not pretend that any lord or god spake a word. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The composer states, god hath raised up the lord ; and that some 
people were fornicators, adulterers, thieves, and drunkards j but such 



338 REVIEW OF 

were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the lord jesus and 
by the[|spirit of god, and that their bodies are the members of christ ; 
and asks, shall i, then, make the members of christ an harlot ? and 
know ye not that your bodies are the temple of a ghost ? although 
this fable, like those that have preceded it, strongly indicates that its 
cpmposer could not have been sober while fabricating it, she appears 
to have become sufficiently moderate to refrain from pretending any 
imaginary invisible lord, god, or ghost spake a word of the chapter. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Is a fable respecting marriage, stating, it hath been written it^is good 
for a man to refrain from touching a woman ; but, to avoid fornication, 
let every man have a wife, and every woman a husband, for it is better 
to marry than to burn, but if a woman's husband be dead, she is at 
liberty to marry, but she is happier if she abide, in my judgment, and 
i think i have the spirit of god. no pretence is made that any god or 
lord spake a word of this fable. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The composer states, if meat make my brother offend, i will eat no 
meat while the world standeth, lest i make my brother to offend ; but 
does not pretend that any god said that eating meat would offend. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The hero saint paul is represented to ask people if he hath not seen 
jesus, and are they not paul's work, have ye not power to eat and to 
drink, and to lead about a sister or a wife ? it is not pretended that 
any god spake a word. 

CHAPTER X. 

Baptism unto moses in the cloud and in the sea, and eating the same 
spiritual meat and drinking the same spiritual drink as this fabled mur- 
derer and servant of god, are treated of; as are, also, other parts of the 
contents of the books of moses ; plainly showing that one person fabri- 
cated the whole, the composer ends this fable with the pretence that 
she does not seek her own profit, but the profit of many, without pre- 
tending that any god spake a word. 



I. CORINTHIANS. 339 

CHAPTER XL- 
It is stated, if a woman pray with her head uncovered, it is even all 
one as if she were shaven ; but it is not pretended any god spake a 
word of the chapter. 

CHAPTER XII. 

It is stated, god hath set first in the church apostles ; second, proph- 
ets ; third, teachers : then miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, govern- 
ments, and diversity of tongues, but this diversity of appointments is 
manifestly made in the disordered imagination of the composer of the 
fable, while unable to compose with reason, as she does not pretend 
that any lord, god, or ghost spake a word. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Charity is strongly recommended, but it is not pretended that any 
invisible spirit spake a word. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Trumpet, pipe, harp, church, lord, and god are treated of; but it is 
not pretended either a god or a lord spake a word. 

CHAPTER XV. 

The composer states, if christ is not risen, then preaching and faith 
are vain ; and acknowledges, if there be no resurrection of the dead, 
then christ is not risen, according to this part of the said-to-be holy 
scriptures, it is not required of people to believe the fabled resurrection 
until we know of a real resurrection, it is not pretended anything 
superior to man spake a word. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The composer, under the title of her hero saint paul, says, concern- 
ing collecting for the saints, as i have given orders to the churches so 
do ye ; let every one, on the first day of the week, lay by in store, 
according as god hath prospered him, so that there be no gatherings 
when i come, so, according to this doctrine, the man who had worked 
briskly, early and late, would have to bestow considerable, while the 
laz}'- drone would contribute nothing, nor be taxed to support either 
saint, prophet, or priest ; and the industrious man would not be allowed 
any credit for aid towards the support of such gentlemen of leisure, 



340 REVIEW or 



who were maintained by the exertions of the industrious, the fabled 
saint paul, before closing the chapter, recommends his people to greet 
one another with a holy kiss, but does not pretend any lord or god spake 
a word. 



11. CORINTHIANS : CHAPTER I. 



The hero of this epistle tells his brethren he would not have them 
ignorant that he had a mind to come to them, and many other flattering 
tales ; but does not pretend any god or lord spake one word. 



CHAPTER II. 

The fabled paul tells people they know the love he has for them, 
and beseeches them to conform their love toward him, and tells them 
he had no rest because he did not find his brother titus ; but does not 
pretend that anything superior to himself spake a word. 

CHAPTER III. 

This fabled paul tells people to behold the glorious face and counte- 
nance of moses, and refers to the fable in the writings attributed to 
moses, and of this murdering agent of a lord putting a veil on his face, 
on account of people being affrighted at its brightness, after he had, for 
forty days, lived so sumptuously as to totally refrain from tasting either 
bread or water ; both that fable, this, and the intervening ones indi- 
cating, in the strongest manner possible, that one person wrote the 
whole, under the influence of strong drink, the words lord, god, and 
Christ are freely used in the chapter ; but it is not pretended that any 
higher power than the fabled paul spake at all. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Paul is stated to have told people that they were delivered unto 
death for Christ's sake, and speaks much of christ, also of a god and a 
lord, and recommends people to look at invisible things in preference to 
those which they can see ; adding, for their momentary afliiction will 
work out for them an eternal weight of glory, but notwithstanding 
this bold assumption being made entirely by the composer of the work, 
she does not add to that boldness any pretence than the one that it is 
the talk or bawl of her fabled saint paul. 



II. CORINTHIANS. 341 

CHAPTER V. 

Paul tells people he is ambassador for christ, as though god did be- 
seech them for him ; and talks about the terror of the lord, and much 
more about a god, a christ, and a lord, but does not pretend either spake 
a word. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The words lord, god, christ, and ghost are freely treated of, without 
pretence that either spake a word. • 

CHAPTER Vn. 

Paul tells people great is his boldness of speech, surely any reader 
must see that the fables written under the title of this hero are shame- 
fully bold ; although in none of them, thus far, has it been told that 
any invisible spirit lent its aid in fabricating them ; but the composer 
hath boldly attributed to this hero great inconsistency. 

CHAPTER Vni. 

Paul treats of his brother finishing the grace he had begun in people, 
but does not pretend anything more holy than himself spake a word 
about it. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Paul again exhorts people to have their bounty ready, and not to 
give grudgingly ; and tells them god is able to make all grace abound 
to them, and treats more of a god and a christ, but does not pretend 
that anybody higher than himself spake a word. 

CHAPTER X. 

Paul acknowledges again that he is bold, and tells people he does 
not wish to seem as though he would terrify them with letters, neither 
does he attempt to terrify them with any of the dismal threats that 
have been inserted in former fables, nor any pretence that any greater 
personage than himself spake a word of the chapter. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Paul tells some women he was jealous over them with godly jea- 
lousy, and had espoused them to one husband, that he might present 
them as chaste virgins, this statement indicates that the composer, 
while bearing the title of virgin queen, felt conscious that some, or 



342 REVIEW OF 

one, who bore the title of virgin were not chaste, she also allows that 
this fabled apostle robbed churches, yet she states the truth of christ is 
in him, and declares in his name, no man shall stop him of this boast- 
ing, and that he says again, let no man think me a fool, and that both 
god and christ know that he doth not lie, and that he was let down 
from a wall in a basket, (this is a similar story to the two men being 
let down by a harlot in a basket), and escaping from a governor who 
was desirous to apprehend him ; but it is not pretended any higher 
power than paui spake a word of the fable. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Paul says he knew a man in christ about fourteen years ago, and that 
he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, this is 
manifestly bad logic, to pretend to know what a man heard in a region 
billions of miles distance, if it hath any existence, paul tells the peo- 
ple he did not burthen them ; but, nevertheless, being crafty, he caught 
them with guile, but does not pretend that any higher power than him- 
self spake. 

CHAPTER Xni. 

Paul tells people that if he comes again he will not spare them that 
have sinned, since they seek a proof of christ speaking in him ; and 
that he writes these things being absent, lest, being present, he should 
use sharpness [according to the power the lord hath given him ; but 
neither the queen of the fable nor her hero paul pretend that any lord 
spake a word at all. paul again recommends one and all to greet each 
other with a holy kiss. 

GALATIANS : CHAPTER I. 

The composer, under the title of the fabled apostle paul, says, when 
it pleased god to reveal to paul his son, that he might preach him among 
the heathen, after three years he went to Jerusalem to see peter, and 
abode with him fifteen days, but saw no other apostle save james, the 
lord's brother ; and paul tells people Jthat he does not lie. it is no 
wonder the composer should think people would consider such fabrica- 
tions untrue, it is not pretended that any higher personage than the 
fabled paul spake at all. 

CHAPTER n. 

Paul says he went to Jerusalem again, fourteen years after, and took 



GALATIANS. 343 

titus with him ; and adds, he went by revelation, fifteen assorted 
words are inserted of god, lord, and christ ; but no pretence is set forth 
that any higher personage *than the man paul spake at all. 

CHAPTER III. 

The deceitful abraham, alias abram, is again referred to, in the state- 
ment that the faithful are blessed with faithful abraham, and that all 
nations shall be blessed in him, which is a repetition from the early 
part of the bible, it is also stated, the blessings of abraham came through 
christ. a sad amalgamation, to pretend that the blessings of a gross 
deceiver must come through the son of a power that is represented to 
have made the earth in one day. much stress is put on mere belief ; 
but it is not pretended that any greater personage than the fabled man 
paul spake a word at all. 

CHAPTER TV. 

Paul says, god sent his son, made of a woman, in answer to this 
story, all may freely and safely declare, they never knew any woman's 
son but whom time would destroy, as they see it does all, both great 
and small, wasting them away to dust, paul tells people they received 
him as an angel, even as christ jesus, and that they would have plucked 
out their own eyes and given them to him ; he, therefore, became their 
enemy, adding, i tell you the truth, the deceitful abraham is again 
referred to ; and the composer, forgetting her statement that god had 
made promises of peculiar great rewards to both these fabled children, 
now pictures them as being vastly different ; but probably as near as 
most wine-bibbers' recollections would have enabled them to do, after 
fabricating so much wild inconsistency as she hath done, from genesis 
to the present chapter ; but she does not show the boldness to declare 
that any greater personage or spirit, either visible or invisible, to her 
fabled man paul spake a word at all. 

CHAPTER V. 

Paul recommends people not to submit to a yoke of bondage, and 
yet his writings generally require people to contribute and have their 
bounty ready. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Paul tells people they see how long a letter he hath in his hand, and 
requests that, henceforth, no man trouble him. the end of his epistle 



344 REVIEW OP 

I 

to the galatians ; the whole being represented as the talk and bawl of 
saint paul, making more than fifty chapters in succession, free from 
pretence that any greater personage than the fabled paul wrote or spake 
a word of them. the book of esther is also free from the pretence of 
any invisible aiding in its fabrication, the whole thirty-eight chapters 
of the acts are, also, fables respecting the actions and sayings of fabled 
men ; and a vast number of other chapters of the said-to-be holy bible 
are similarl}'- composed : yet, notwithstanding these legibly recorded 
facts, many declare them to be the word of something they pretend 
exists out of sight, and that the mass hath been written under the in- 
spiration of such a supposed spirit, and by their flattering tales delude 
weak minds. 

EPHESIANS : CHAPTER I. 

Paul tells his congregation that the father of their lord jesus christ 
hath chosen him and them before the foundation of the world, that they 
should be holy, and that he had predestinated and adopted them to him- 
self, and hath abounded to them in prudence ; thus paul tells the peo- 
ple he always makes mention of them in his prayers, that they may 
have the spirit of revelation given them, much more is stated about 
christ and paul, but it is not pretended any lord or god spake a word. 

CHAPTER n. 

The composer attributes to her pretended creator and maker of man 
the disgrace of creating ail the children of wrath, surely a greater in- 
dignity and inconsistenc)'' could never have been fabricated by any one 
long inebriated, but by grace, she tells her subjects, they are saved ; 
which grace, she strives to make them believe, is to be shown them in 
ages to come ; and that they are made nigh by the blood of christ, and 
are fellow-citizens with saints and the household of god. but bucking- 
ham palace, at the head of st. James's park, in london, suited her ma- 
jesty and her household, beyond doubt, much better than to M-^ait for- 
ever to obtain accommodation in any imaginary invisible palace or 

heaven. 

CHAPTER HI. 

Paul tells people, when they read, they may understand his knowl- 
edge in the mystery of christ ; which, from the beginning of the world 
hath been hid in god, who created all things in christ. here the com- 
poser records forgetfulness of having stated mary gave birth to christ, 
after many generations had been on the earth and returned to it. 



PHILIPPIANS. 345 

CHAPTER IV. 

Paul is styled a prisoner of christ, which he hath been several times, 
and at other times servant to the same ; and people are told, in lan- 
guage sufficiently bold, that god and the father is in them all ; and that 
apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers were given by 
christ, when he ascended far above heaven ; and that we be no more 
tossed and carried by every wind of doctrine of men, nor their crafti- 
ness, by which they lie in wait to deceive, this evidently shows the 
composer felt conscious, for a moment, she had exceeded the bounds of 
probability and truth in her bold statement. 

, CHAPTER V. 

The composer states to her subjects, in an unbecoming rude style, 
that such and such transgressors have no inheritance in her fabled king- 
doms ; and cautions them, in better language, not to be deceived bj 
Yain words, and recommends them to redeem time, because the days 
are evil, she could scarcely fail of feeling conscious she had done se- 
rious evil to her fellow-beings many a day, according to her unrelent- 
ing cruel character, she states some beings, past feeling, gave them- 
selves up to lasciviousness ; and, beyond doubt, she knew one did. 

CHAPTER VI. 

^- Servants are commanded to be obedient to their masters with fear 
and trembling, and not with eye service ; knowing that whatsoever 
good a man doeth the same he shall receive of the lord, whether he 
be bond or free, this doctrine would, of course, suit tyrannical cruel 
monarchs ; but it cannot correspond well as being the command of a 
creative power, equitable and just, as stated in a former fable. 

PfflLIPPIANS: CHAPTER I. 

This fabled apostle boasts that he makes joyous request in all his 

prayers for people, for their fellowship in the gospel, from the first day 

until now ; adding, god is his reward, and how greatly he longs after 

them all in the bowels of jesus christ, and that his bonds in christ are 

manifest in the palace, by this it is seen that the queen of the fable 

was not yet able to compose with reason, or to forget thinking her 

palace was of great importance. 

23 



346 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER II. 

-f The composer shows that she harbours doubts of making lasting im- 
pressions of belief on the minds of her subjects, respecting her pre- 
tences of knowing so much about a character under the titles of jesus 
ehrist and lord ; and states, if there be any consolation in christ, let 
everything be done in lowness of mind ; thus, also, showing she had 
noticed marvellous and incomprehensibly bold declarations depressed 
the spirits of her subjects, by which means they had been held in sur- 
veillance by dismal threats preached frnm the former bible, during both 
her father's reign and her own ; the observance of which, beyond 
doubt, led her to fabricate the bible she left in a more voluminous and 
puzzling condition, and also the new testament, with the bold assump- 
tion that those who did not believe her writings true and holy should 
be cast into a lake of unquenchable fire ; but oh ! if you believe, then 
you are to be made happy for ever, and know no want, but seeing 
her bold assumptions did not frighten people so much as she wished, 
she says, they seek their own things, and not those of christ. 

CHAPTER III. 

The composer, under the title of her hero saint paul, writes, beware 
of dogs, have no confidence in the flesh, and treats again of her repeated 
shameful proposition of cruelty to be performed on male children on 
the eighth day of their age, which none but a licentious, lewd female 
"would ever have thought of. the words god, lord, and christ are in- 
serted many times, without pretence that any such invisible spake ; but 
she states, our conversation is in heaven. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The composer, who had claim to a crown, writes, people longed for 
my joy and crown, she directs them to rejoice in the lord, and again 
says, rejoice alway in the lord ; not because i desire a gift, but i have 
all and abound, i am full, having received from you sacrifice acceptable 
and well-pleasing to god. but my god shall supply all your need, ac- 
cording to his riches, thus the queen of the fable continues to make 
bold statements to her subjects that an invisible spirit shall reward them, 
while she revels in profusion with the realities of the visible world, 
and plans lessons of deception for others to delude her subjects with ; 
and her mind, thus far through her writings, under the title of her hero 
saint paul, appears to have been occupied in aiming to portray a char- 



COLOSSIANS. 



347 



acter for that name at once marvellous and sublime ; and, at the same 
time, showing she was no more able to compose with reason than she 
had been while fabricating the previous part of her work. 

COLOSSIANS : CHAPTER I. 

The people are flattered with a tale of their having faith in christ, 
and of hope that is laid up for them in heaven, and of prayer being 
offered for them to be filled with spiritual understanding, but as it 
respects all useful spirit and energy, and useful understanding, the queen 
of the bible hath, throughout its fables, endeavoured to frighten people 
into stupidity and base submission, and now states to her subjects, if 
they continue in the faith of the gospel they have heard, that paul, 
under heaven, is made minister of, which, it is again declared, was given 
to him by dispensation of god, even the mystery which hath been hid 
for ages, — that every man may be presented worthy in christ. this 
word, also those of lord and god, are inserted many times, but no pre- 
tence is made that any higher power than the composer's hero paul 
spake at all. 

CHAPTER n. 

A flattering tale is again told the people, that paul had beheld their 
steadfast faith in christ, adding some nonsense about a godhead bodily ; 
for what can be greater inconsistency, when god and lord have been so 
tiresomely treated of as being both head and body invisible, she adds, 
let -no man beguile you of your reward of humility and worshiping of 
angels, and tells her subjects they are subject to ordinances, touch 
not, taste not, handle not things that have show of wisdom. 

CHAPTER in. 

The composer recommends her subjects to set their affections on 
things above, and not on things of the earth ; but she was well known 
to have set her affections on the handsome manly person of the earl of 
essex, as one of her favorites, and also on good wine, which she treats 
of in innumerable instances throughout the work she left for her chosen 
successor to publish ; but she recommends her subjects to let the word 
of christ dwell in them richly, and repeats her command to servants to 
obey their masters in all things heartily. 

CHAPTER IV. 
Masters of servants are recommended to continue in prayer, and to 



348 REVIEW OP 

let their speech be graceful, luke is here styled a physician ; the salu-- 
tation of paul, and his bonds, are again treated of ; the words christ, 
lord, and god are many times inserted, all free from pretence of any 
higher power than the queen's hero, saint paul, speaking a word in the 
course of the four chapters of the epistle. 

THESSALONIANS : CHAPTER I. 

Repetition is again made that paul makes mention of people in his 
prayers, remembering their work of faith and patience, — of hope in 
christ and his father, people, of course, would naturally doubt the 
truth of such idle, useless flatterj'^, and it would need much persuasion 
to get them to show occasional respect for it, as well when such un- 
reasonable doctrines were introduced as they have done ever since, 
hence the necessity . of the organization of numerous aids, and large 
collections of the " one thing needful," to procure their subsistence 
with while such projects are continued. 

CHAPTER 11. 

It is acknowledged that paul, and others who could as loudly bawl, 
were bold to speak the gospel ; and paul doth boast on behalf of them 
all, that their exhortation was not deceit or guile ; but they were 
allowed of god, and says they were gentle as a nurse, and affectionately 
desirous to impart the gospel. 

CHAPTER ni. 

Paul tells people he thought it good to be left at athens, and that he 
sent brother timothy to minister and to comfort them, and he sent to 
know their faith, and says he and timothy pray night and day exceed- 
ingly, that they might see their face and perfect their lack of faith, 
surely people need to have faith sufficient to make them believe a man 
could swallow a whale, to believe such a wild tale. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Paul tells people they know what commandments he and timothy- 
had given them by the lord, how they ought to watch and please god ; 
and again tells them he would not have them be ignorant if they believe 
jesus died and rose again, and says the lord himself shall descend from 
heaven with a shout and with a trump, and the dead in christ shall rise ; 
then the living shall be caught up to meet the lord in the air and be 



II. THESSALONIANS. 349 

ever with the lord, so comfort yourselves with these words, thus 
endeth this fable. 

CHAPTER V. 

Paul says people know perfectly that the lord cometh as a thief in 
the night ; and the childless queen, under the title of her hero paul, 
treats of a woman travailing with child, and recommends her subjects 
to keep sober, probably reflecting on troubles she had endured for such 
omission, she states to her subjects that jesus died for them, whether 
they wake or sleep, and tells them to pray without ceasing, and greet 
all brethren with a holy kiss, i charge you by the lord ; but it is not 
pretended any lord or god spake a word of the epistle ; it is all repre- 
sented as the talk of the man paul, thus far through the writings attri- 
buted to that hero. 

n. THESSALONIANS : CHAPTER I. ] 

Paul tells a flattering tale to people again, — that their faith and charity- 
grow, and talks to them about jesus being revealed, with his mighty 
angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not god 
and do not obey the gospel ; which doctrine doth plainly show the queen 
was well aware that no one knew any god of so contradictory a char- 
acter as she had pictured forth in her imagination, to frighten her sub- 
jects with : but, of course she was aware that many people knew of 
the gospel that had been preached from the bible in use during the 
reigns both of her and her father, and her improvement and addition to 
that she wished that people should be compelled to show respect to ; 
and those who do not, she. states, shall be punished with everlasting 
destruction, this is the theme of her testament. 

CHAPTER n. 

It is stated, god shall send strong delusions to people, so that they 
shall believe a lie. this indicates that the composer felt conscious her 
work was principally of that character, and would be likely to delude 
those of her subjects who had been credulous enough to believe similar 
fables that were then preached among people, after the composer's 
statement that god causes people to believe a lie, she adds that they all 
might be damned who believed not the truth ; the fable showing clearly 
that she had indulged herself too freely with the article she stated in 
genesis that her hero, noah of the flood fable, had become drunken by. 



350 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER III. 

Paul again tells a flattering tale to people, and assumes to know that 
a lord shall stablish them, and direct their hearts into patient waiting 
for christ, and boasts of not being chargeable to others ; but in a former 
epistle he commands people to give without grudging, and to have their 
bounty ready against he came, by this people might readily understand 
he abhorred begging with hat in hand. 

I. TIMOTHY : CHAPTER I. , 

Paul is promoted again to the title of apostle, having formerly been 
accounted a prisoner, and next a servant, according to the fables. pauI 
treats of an invisible king, and of receiving mercy himself, that in him 
first jesus might show forth all long sufferings, and says the gospel of 
god was committed to his trust, the words jesus, god, lord, and christ 
are inserted often, but no pretence is made of any higher power than 
the man paul speaking a word. 

CHAPTER II. 

The queen, under the title of saint paul, exhorts people that they 
pray and make supplication for kings, and for all that are in authority \ 
adding, this is good and acceptable in the sight of our saviour, and be- 
stows on her man paul the title of being ordained a preacher and an 
apostle, and says that he lieth not, and he will that men pray every 
where, lifting up holy hands, but he does not allow a woman to teach. 

' CHAPTER III. 

Paul only allows a bishop one wife, and neither bishop nor priest 
must be given to too much wine, this looks as though the queen 
thought it right to allow such personages a fair supply, that they should 
not become uncomfortably dull and dry. 

CHAPTER IV. 

It is ^stated, some with seared consciences will speak hypocritical 
lies, forbidding marriage and eating meat. 

CHAPTER V. 

The queen appears to think young widows wax wanton against 
christ, and will marry because they cast off faith ; they, of course, 
would not have faith that they should replenish the earth, any more 



II. TIMOTHY. 351 

than elizabeth, if they continued, like her, without a mate, she states, 
the young widows learn to be idle tattlers, going from house to house, 
had the queen have been kindly disposed towards young buxom widows, 
she might have allowed them the privilege of going abroad until they 
met with mates, even if she would not condescend to choose one her- 
self, finally, she consents that the younger women marry and bear 
children, and allows her subjects to drink wine instead of water for 
their stomachs' sake. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The queen directs all servants that are under a yoke to count their 
masters worthy of all honour, and not despise believing masters, and 
having food and raiment, to be content, this is doctrine that might be 
naturally expected to suit ruling monarchs, and such as they would plan 
and strive to enforce it as long as their subjects were deluded to intrust 
them with the power so to act, godliness with contentment, she tells 
her subjects, is great gain ; and also states, those who would be rich 
fall into hurtful lusts, for the love of money is the root of all evil, this 
hath been a favorite topic with the queen thioughout her work, — to 
persuade her subjects to be humble and content themselves with food 
and clothing, and be obedient to those in authority over them. 

II. TIMOTHY: CHAPTER I. 

Paul tells this beloved son that he thanks god from his forefathers 
with pure conscience, and in his prayers, night and day, unceasingly 
remembers them, and is mindful of their tears when he calls to remem- 
brance their unfeigned faith, which dwelt first in their grandmother and 
mother, the names of these faithful dames are on this laughable record^ 
paul advises his people not to be ashamed of the lord's testimony, nor 
of him its prisoner ; but be partakers of the afflictions of the gospel 
and grace which was given in jesus before the world began, this last 
sentence hath been inserted in a previous chapter, both showing the 
composer had forgotten her statements that jesus was born of a woman, 
many years after her pretended destruction of most that drew the breath 
of life, she treats, as usual, freely of the unmeaning words, god, 
Christ, and ghost, without pretending any higher power than the man 
paul spake a word. 

CHAPTER II. 

Paul tells his son to endure hardships as a good soldier of jesus, and 



352 REVIEW or 

remember jesus was raised from the dead according to my gospel, this 
shows the composer knew that resurrection was only in the imagina- 
tion, from which a doctrine had been formed, and that it needed funds 
to pay peter and paul, who did about it loudly bawl, the composer 
treats of rightly dividing the. word of truth ; and as all know truth 
cannot be divided, it only shows she felt conscious it would need a 
skilful workman to divide any truth of consequence out of the work 
she left. 

CHAPTER in. 

The composer acknowledges that some creep into silly womens' 
houses under form of godliness, and lead them away to divers lusts ; 
and adds, evil men and seducers shall wax worse, moses, so much 
treated of in the bible, is here again referred to, as he hath been in. 
numerous instances in the preceding fables of the testament, adding to 
various other proofs, that both books have been composed by one dis- 
ordered mind, many unmeaning titles garnish this chapter. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Paul exhorts timothy, with the bold assumption of his being before 
god and christ, and tells him to preach the word in season and out of 
season, — reprove, rebuke, exhort ; and says he hath kept the faith, 
and that there is a crown laid up for him ; and commands his cloak to 
be brought, and the books, especially the parchment, surely no one 
reader, that strives to be guided by reason, will pretend that any higher 
power than an inebriate would compose such fables, alexander the 
coppersmith, she states, did me much evil, the lord reward him accord- 
ingly ; notwithstanding, it is stated, the lord stood with paul, and 
strengthened him, that by him preaching might be fully known ; and, 
to crown the climax of absurdity, the queen of the fable states her hero 
paul was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 

TITUS : CHAPTER I. 

Paul an apostle, according to the faith of the elect in hope of eternal 
life, which god promised before the world began, surely, no sober 
queen, or honest man, would pretend that such an improbable affair 
was truth ; but the queen doth further try to make her subjects believe 
a being was known that could not be, and that it was committed to her 
hero paul, according to command ; and acknowledges there are many 
deceivers and vain talkers teaching what they ought not for filthy lucre's 



HEBREWS. 353 

sake ; they profess to know god, but in works deny him. this hath 
often been demonstrably shown, from a poor preacher to the wearer of 
a crown. 

CHAPTER II. 

The composer recommends again that servants be obedient to their 
masters, and to please them well in all things, not answering again, 
the first eight verses of this chapter appear to me to be about the best 
part of the whole werk left by queen elizabeth ; and, in my opinion, 
form nearly all that is needed to be preached from to improve the minds 
and morals of society, as they combine most of the leading traits neces- 
sary to form true useful and kind members, the most certain road to 
happiness. 

CHAPTER HI. 

The composer appears to retain some relic of the commendable feel- 
ings she entertained while writing the preceding chapter, and recom- 
mends people to be ready to every good work, and to be gentle and 
meek, and not to speak ill of any man, nor to be brawlers, and to avoid 
foolish questions and genealogies ; for they are unprofitable and vain, 
beyond reasonable doubt, thousands who have had their minds nearly 
distracted with such vain lessons have experienced proofs of the un- 
profitableness of such useless tasks in the form of catechism. 

PHILEMON. 

The fabled apostle paul now is represented so small as to be a pris- 
oner again, in the composer's imagination ; to which she adds her oft- 
repeated statement, that he makes mention of people always in his 
prayers, this hath been a common occurrence with the queen, to re- 
peat her statements, from her books of moses to the present chapter, 
peruse the book and you will find it so. 

HEBREWS : CHAPTER I. 

The queen, after writing thus far under the title of her hero paul, 
appears to recollect that she had not pretended that any god, lord, or 
ghost had spoken a word for about a hundred chapters in succession ; 
and as the book was formed to be introduced to her subjects as the word 
of something invisible, she had made a great mistake, to the discredit 
of her work, and it was time to say something to smooth over that 
blunder, and treats of such an invisible having spoken many times, in 



364 REVIEW OF 

divers manners, to the prophets, those are the fabled characters treated 
of throughout the bible, in this chapter, she states, it speaks by its 
son. so now we may expect a pestering course of unmeaning state- 
ments will run through the remainder of her work, the queen begins, 
by stating this father hath appointed its son heir of all things, by whom, 
also, he made the worlds ; forgetting again her statement that this fabled 
miraculous son she had pictured forth as the first one, mary gave birth 
to, after the world had been populated by many generations, the queen, 
also, hath represented the whole as an hereditary affair, similar to the 
power she held her crown by ; and also treats of the father telling this 
son that he was his son, and he had begotten him that day. surely no 
sober modest person would fabricate such inconsistency. 

CHAPTER 11. 

The queen states, if the word spoken by angels were steadfast, and 
treats of god bearing witness by signs-, wonders, miracles, and gifts of 
the holy ghost ; showing that she considered, in a sober hour, that peo- 
ple would not retain steadfast belief in the statements of such imagin- 
ary spirits, but she boldly states to her subjects, we see jesus, who 
was made a little lower than the angels, the queen, by this last state- 
ment, shows she had forgotten her statement in chapter i, verse 4, that 
jesus was made better than the angels, thus, like most attempts at 
deceit and imposition, hath the composer of the fabled holy scriptures 
made a slip of memory and pen, to show observing men the- inconsis- 
tency of her fables. 

CHAPTER HI. 

The queen treats of jesus now, as a man counted worthy of more 
glory than moses, the fabled murderer and servant of god, and treats of 
a ghost speaking, and of a lord swearing in its wrath, laying great stress 
on belief, which forms the principal topic of the testament, great direful 
everlasting torments being boldly declared shall be the fate of those 
who do suppose the writings of the red-nosed queen elizabeth of eng- 
land a fable, and to believe them anything else I think no one can be 
able, who will bestow on it attentive perusal, as all are obliged to be- 
lieve according to their conviction, the bible fable of forty years' suf- 
ferings in a wilderness is referred to, as are many other fables of the 
bible in various parts of the testament, showing that one person com- 
posed both books. 



HEBREWS. 355 

CHAPTER IV. 

The queen strives to intimidate her subjects by pretending to know 
a god whose voice is sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing asunder 
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the 
heart, and that all things are naked and open to its eyes. 

' CHAPTER V. 

Priests are allowed to be ordained by men ; but, from the composer's 
assumption of knowledge that something invisible held such incredible 
power over man as to create one out of dust, who was able to contrive 
names for the endless variety of beasts and birds of the universe before 
learning a letter, and to create all things in six days, it is a wonder she 
had not allowed such a power the honour of conferring so peculiarly 
great a privilege to that power, and represented all the men taken from 
among the people to be ordained, while lifting up outspread hands, on 
some fabled mount, to such a spirit, or even in a building, or on an 
elevation distinct from the observers of the ceremony ; it surely would 
have been as consistent with reason as to suppose such an invisible 
spirit hears what they say respecting their neighbors, and such form 
of ordination would have been full as likely to have jmade as steadfast 
an impression on as many minds as the form now practised, priests 
are allowed to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, and to have compassion 
on the ignorant. Who but the ignorant would give the fruits of their 
industry away to priests ? 

CHAPTER VI. 

The queen, by aid of her fabled paul, tells her subjects that it is 
impossible those should be renewed to repentance who have tasted of 
the holy ghost if they fall away, the deceitful and peculiarly and 
profusely rewarded abraham, alias abram, treated of in the fifteenth, 
and again in the twentieth, of genesis, is referred to, and the promises 
god made to this infamous character, stating that because god could not 
swear by anything greater it sware by itself, surely no sober or sane 
person would ever have written such absurd nonsense. 

CHAPTER VII. 

A priest of god met the deceitful abraham, alias abram, returning from 
a slaughter ; abraham gives the priests a tenth of all spoils, being, by 
interpretation, king of righteousness, having neither beginning of days 



356 REVIEW OF 

nor end of life, but made like the son of god, abideth a priest continu- 
ally, and the patriarch abraham, alias abram, gave to him the tenths 
of the spoils, much more is stated respecting tithes ; and that levi, 
who received tithes, paid tithes to abraham, for he was yet in his father's 
loins, here it can be seen that the queen of the fable was boldly rude, 
and strove to make an impression on the minds of her subjects, that 
they must give a large portion of the fruits of their industry to priests, 
and pay great homage to them ; and in her distracted state of mind, it 
appears, she wrote it is evident our lord sprang out of judah, and treats 
of the lord swearing a certain man was a priest for ever ; and repre- 
sents her fabled paul to have added, but this man, because he continueth 
for ever, he hath an everlasting priesthood. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The queen allow^s every ordained high-priest to offer sacrifices who 
serve to the sample of her fabled moses ; who, she states, was admon- 
ished of god to make all things, and the tabernacle according to the 
pattern it showed him in the mount, this fabled mount hath been re- 
presentrd as being troubled with smoke and thick mist when moses and 
an invisible spirit met there, and if the eyes of moses could not bear 
smoke better than other eyes he would but imperfectly see. 

CHAPTER IX. 

A candlestick, table, and show-bread, it is said, were in the first 
tabernacle, and a second tabernacle was called the holiest of all, w^hich 
had the golden censor and the ark of the covenant overlaid with gold, 
and the gold pot containing manna, Bud aaron's rod, that budded, blos- 
somed, and bore almonds, as stated also in the seventeenth of leviticus ; 
which fabled rod, in another fable, is stated to have swallowed several 
others, moses, it is stated, took blood, with scarlet wool and hyssop, 
and sprinkled the book, all the people, the tabernacle, and all the vessels 
of ministry ; and the queen of the fable states, it was, therefore, neces- 
sary that the patterns of things in the heaven should be purified with 
these, how could queen elizabeth have imagined to have conveyed 
such articles of purification to her fabled region, that hath not been 
discovered to exist within billions of miles from where the realities of 
blood, scarlet, hyssop, and wool abound .'' although we do not find 
scarlet a real substantive, like her officers' coats, yet, as an adjective or 
color, by the industry and ingenuity of man, it maketh a conspicuous 



HEBREWS. 357 

appearance ; but the queen hath often portrayed it as an article of sub- 
istance in her fables under the title of the books of moses. 

CHAPTER X. 

The queen here acknowledges that the blood of animals has no power 
to make people better ; thus showing, probably, that in a sober mo- 
ment she felt conscious of having far exceeded , in her wild statements 
through various parts of the bible, all probability, and had lost the hope 
of making impressions on the minds of her subjects, that such sacri- 
fices had been submitted to by their ancestors, when commanded by 
king or priest, the queen of the fable, in her usual wild style, treats 
of a ghost being a witness to people, surely the queen could not have 
been sober when she wrote this, or she would not have been bold enough 
to have done so. he that despised the law of moses, she also states, 
died ; which statement further indicates boldness inspired by strong 
drink, to represent a man of so great importance, whom she had por- 
trayed as a murderer in the second chapter of exodus, the first chapter 
in which she gives any account of this hero of her books of moses, 
although she doth call all the five first books of her bible the books of 
moses ; notwithstanding she wrote the first fifty chapters without think- 
ing of picturing him forth as then a babe j and in these books she attri- 
butes to this hero as being their author, gives a i account, also, of his 
death, burial, and a specified time that people mourned for him, all 
under pretence that moses wrote the whole ! 

CHAPTER XI. 

Through faith, it is stated, we understand the worlds were made by 
a word, as every being on earth is sustained by its productions, all 
have proof that no one could, at any time, have known that it ever 
was made ; and it surely it is more reasonable to decide and form belief 
that it ever existed, than to yield to or encourage the baseless supposi- 
tion that such an immense bulk was formed out of nothing, the offer- 
ings of cain and abel are treated of, and the partiality of an imaginary 
invisible spirit, which hath been represented as being equitable, just, 
provident, wise and almighty ; yet one of these fabled brothers is al- 
lowed to kill the other, who is made to appear to have pleased this 
invisible by far the most, so that his fat offerings were accepted by it, 
while the fruits of the brothers' industry who tilled the ground for the 
whole human family then existing, according to the queen's incredibly 



358 REVIEW OF 

wild fable, was not accepted. The numerous repetititions of fables and 
parts of fables from the bible, that are interspersed through both testa- 
ment and apocrypha, must show convincing proof to the observing and 
unprejudiced reader, that the three books have been fabricated by one 
disordered mind. 

CHAPTER XII. 

The bible fable of esau selling his birthright is referred to, and also, 
the command that any man or beast that touched the fabled mount 
where god and the murderer moses, its servant met, should be shot ; 
and an innumerable company of angels, also, and a voice shaking the 
earth, and of a god being a consuming fire. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby angels have been 
entertained unawares, this looks as though the queen's whim of the 
moment was, that she could make her subjects believe such phantoms 
were strolling about, in various parts, so plentifully that they might be 
promiscuously brought into people's houses by strangers, the queen 
of the fable treats of marriage in her usual rude style (see verse 4.) 
in verse 7 she commands her subjects to remember those who rule them, 
and have spoken the word of god, and tells them it is good to be estab- 
lished in grace, and again writes, obey them that rule over you, and 
submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls ; and adds, pray for us. 
but experience hath shown people that kings and queens have enforced 
their subjects to work and fight for them ; and that, with all their pre- 
tence of piety and care for their souls, were willing to have thousands 
of bodies, and all the souls appertaining to them, run the risk of being 
slaughtered in warfare on trifling occasions, and for the sole purpose, at 
times, to sustain or add to their power and aggrandisement, thus end- 
eth the hundredth chapter of the fabled paul, without pretence that any 
god or lord spake at all in any one of the hundred. 

JAMES : CHAPTER I. ; 

Let the rich rejoice that he is made low. this logic, of course, is no 
go, and must ever be so, as most thoughtful persons strive to gather 
something for the time of need. 



ST. JAMES. » 359 

CHAPTER 11.^ 

If a man come into an assembly with a gold ring and goodly apparel, 
and another in vile raiment, and ye say to the gay sit thou here, and to 
the poor stand thou there, are ye not partial ? the bible fable of abra- 
ham, alias abram, is referred to, and that this deceitful character was 
called the friend of god. rahab the harlot is also treated of, who, the 
queen in one of her fables states, hid two men, and then said she did 
not know where they had gone, and afterwards let them down in a 
basket from her house that was on the top of a town wall, thus, it 
appears much the same kind of wild thoughts occupied the mind of the 
queen from the beginning of her work to its end. 

CHAPTER in. 

In this chapter it is stated, if any man offend not in word he is a 
perfect man. This is certainly a useful recommendation to be taught ; 
but it boldly contradicts the declaration in the part of the testament 
succeeding the numerous pretences that mary's son jesus performed 
many impossibilities, such as raising dead people to life, one of them 
after he had been buried four days, and feeding many thousands with a 
trifle of food that would only have been sufficient for a dozen, and 
taking up more fragments than were brought, and thousands of people 
having been filled, and causing a man who had been lame from his 
birth to take up his bed and walk, and another man who was blind to 
instantly gain his sight by his eyes being touched with clay and spittle. 
soon after these, and many more statements equally wild, comes the 
declaration that he that believes shall be saved, and he that believeth 
not shall be damned, the queen of the fable treats of ships and their 
helms, which doth show she did more of such realities know than she 
did of any invisible spirit or region, at the time she composed the work 
she left for her successor, king james, to publish, according to the in- 
consistent style in which she hath pictured such imaginary objects. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The queen tells her subjects that the friendship of the world is en- 
mity with god. according to this said-to-be holy sentence, the queen 
strives to make her subjects believe it is dangerous for them to receive 
friendship, and commands them to humble themselves, and tells them 
there is one lawgiver who can save and destroy, no cause to create 
happiness can be found in this. 



360 REVIEW OF 

CHAPTER V. 

The bible fable of elias praying earnestly that it might not rain, and 
that no rain fell during three years and six months, is referred to ; also, 
that he prayed again and heaven gave rain ; which makes it appear 
that the queen was in a condition so queer as not to be able, while wine 
was yet on her table, to remember while rain was not falling, and the 
sky was clear and bright, and sol did appear, it was gradually causing 
vapours to arise and form clouds, which, when thickly condensed, would 
descend in rain by their weight. 

I. PETER : CHAPTER I. 

The queen appears to aim at making her subjects believe they pos- 
sess faith that is more valuable than gold, and that they love a fabled 
jesus they had not seen, and although they have not seen him they be- 
lieve in him, and rejoice with unspeakable joy and glory, and tells them 
the gospel with a ghost sent down from heaven hath been preached 
unto them, and that the angels desired to look into such things, and 
commands them to be sober, and hope for the grace that is to be brought 
to them as obedient children, this doctrine, of course, would suit the 
queen of the fable, and also her father, king henry the eighth of england. 
the queen again shows herself wild as before, by repeating, christ was 
ordained before the foundation of the world, after portraying many 
generations previous to her fable of the birth of christ in a manger. 

CHAPTER n. 

The queen flatters her subjects, or strives to make them believe her 
fable that they are a holy nation, and tells them they should show forth 
praise, and exhorts them to submit to every ordinance of man ; un- 
doubtedly meaning her ordinance makers and enforcers ; for the lord's 
sake, she adds, whether it be to the king, or governors, or their officers ; 
and commands them to fear god and honour the king, and directs ser- 
vants to subject themselves to their masters, this all corresponds well 
"with aristocracy. 

CHAPTER HI. 

The fable, in genesis, of sarah obeying abraham and calling him lord 
is referred to. 



I. JOHN. 361 

CHAPTER IV. 1 

The queen again recommends people to be sober, the disagreeable 
consequences of an opposite course, it can scarcely be doubted, she had 
often felt ; for the work she left indicates she was rarely, if ever, sober 
while fabricating it. 

CHAPTER V. 

The queen again commands people to be sober and humble, and greet 
one another with a kiss ; but does not add holy to this, as she hath often 
done before ; all of which indicates she felt merry on this occasion, and 
that on former ones she thought it right to use more persuasion 

I 

II. PETER : CHAPTER I. 

The queen now being old, tells her subjects that she thinks it meet, 
so long as she is in this tabernacle, to stir them up by putting them in 
remembrance, knowing she must shortly put off her tabernacle, that- 
they may be able, after her decease, to remember they had not followed 
cunningly-devised fables, by this it appears that the queen's conscience 
was smitten on account of having cunningly devised such fables as 
were calculated to cause superstition and terrify weak minds, which 
she hath manifestly done throughout the work she left. 

CHAPTER II. 

The queen acknowledges there were false prophets among the people, 
who, with feigned words, make merchandise of them. The fabled lot 
of the bible, whose wife, it is stated in that said-to-be holy book, was 
turned into a pillar of salt because she looked on a city that was burn- 
ing, is here referred to ; the speaking ass is also referred to ; all show- 
ing that one disordered mind fabricated bible and testament. 

CHAPTER III. 

The queen shows she doubted her power of making people believe 
a dead body would come to life and be again among them, and states, 
scoffers will ask, where is the promise of his coming ? but she plucks 
up bold courage, and states, the lord will come as a thief in the night ; 
which corresponds with her fable in genesis, second chapter, where she 
states, god took a rib from adam while he was in a deep sleep. 

24 



362 REVIEW OF 

I. JOHN : CHAPTER I. 

The queen, to keep up the power and consequence she hath bestowed 
on priests throughout her work, tells her subjects, if we confess our 
sins, the blood of jesus cleanseth us from them ; and as her subject* 
never saw that fabled character, she, of course, intended to have them 
drilled into the belief that it had lived and died to atone for their sins. 

CHAPTER 11. 

The queen tells her subjects (calling them her children) that if any 
sin, they have an advocate, who is also a propitiation for the sins of the 
world, surely this is encouragement to indulge in vice. 

CHAPTER III. 

The queen acknowledges that the world knoweth not god, and again 
calls her subjects children, and tells them not to let men deceive them, 
the bible fable of cain slaying abel is referred to, showing that the 
composer again and again thought of her bible stories while she was 
fabricating those of her new testament. 

CHAPTER IV. 

It is again acknowledged that there are many false prophets, and that 
no man hath seen god. 

CHAPTER V. 

The queen asks, who is he that overcometh the world } and give* 
herself the answer, — he that believeth jesus is the son of god. the 
world can answer, — many inmates of lunatic hospitals. 

II. JOHN : CHAPTER I. 

An elder is treated of, as loving a lady and her children, and beseech- 
ing her that they love each other ; and says, many confess that jesus 
hath not come into the flesh ; thus showing and acknowledging people 
did not believe the unnatural tales that she was cunningly planning to 
be preached, or that she felt afraid they would not. 

JUDE. 

The bible fable of people being brought out of egypt is referred to, 
also the fabled cities of sodom and gomorrah, that lot's wife turned 
round to look on while they were burning ; for which inoffensive natu- 
ral action, it is stated by the queen, when she could not have been fit 



REVELATIONS. 363 

to be seen, that the wife, without a fault, was instantly turned into a 
pillar of salt, and here the queen also shows a lack of sober reflection, 
in her fable of an archangel contending and disputing with the devil 
about the body of moses ; for she hath represented many generations 
to have come on the earth since her portraiture of that hero's death 
and burial, and hath not laid down any doctrine to preserve bodies so 
long, or a thousandth part of the time ; but as she fabricated no doc- 
trine, cain, balaam, enoch and adam — all bible heroes — are referred to 

REVELATIONS : CHAPTER I. 

The composer states, John wrote to seven angels and seven churches ; 
and as it hath never been known that churches had any other principals 
attached to them than priests, it appears as though the queen of the 
fable thought proper to style such men angels, which can be no more 
sacred than to style seven of the amorous priests, out of those who 
have been recorded as such in courts, for their transactions with fair 
angels of the earth ; and while the heads of the clergy receive such 
enormous salaries as ten bishops to have incomes that amount to nearly 
an average of 200,000 dollars each per annum, it follows, as a natural 
course, that men will be found to preach any doctrine they are required 
to propagate while in receipt of larger incomes than they could obtain 
by other business, and men can generally be found to exert themselves 
to clear the most unrelenting murderers when they expect to obtain 
some of the gold they hold ; all of which ought to admonish the com- 
munity to set aside all such injurious delusions. Joshua, the fabled 
servant of god, who, in the sixth book of the bible, is stated to have 
had power over the sun and moon, and whom an imaginary invisible 
spirit directed to make sharp knives and cut a piece off man, who, it 
is stated, this spirit itself created, is referred to ; adding to the chain of 
proof that the same wild head which composed the book of Joshua also 
composed this fable ; and she now manifestly fabricates as wild a fable 
about her hero jesus as she did of Joshua in the bible, — calling him a 
witness, and the first-begotten of the dead, and the prince of kings, 
telling her subjects he hath washed us in his blood, and made us kings 
and priests ; and says, behold, he cometh, and every eye shall see him, 
and all shall wail because of him. thus the queen of the fable sud- 
denly starts into a change of wild imaginings, she represents a great 
Toice being heard, as of a trumpet, which is precisely the same style of 
expression she used in the fable of a god and its servant moses meeting 



364 REVIEW OF 

in a mysterious, hidden manner, on a mount that neither man nor beast 
were allowed to touch on pain of being shot through ; and after the 
god had given its commands, according to the fable, to its murdering 
agent, moses comes down to the people, and asked them if they did 
not hear god with a great voice, the fabled John of this story, it is 
also stated, turned to see the voice precisely in the same manner as 
moses is stated to have turned, in the books of moses. the fable is 
garnished with a tale, wildly composed, about seven golden candle- 
sticks, amidst which stood a figure wearing a golden girdle, white hair, 
and with eyes like a flame of fire, feet like fine brass, and bearing seven 
stars in its right hand, and a two-edged sword coming out of its mouth. 

.CHAPTER II. 

A threat is made of removing a candlestick out of its place, and that 
the devil shall cast some into prison, where they shall be tried, the 
fabled tree of life is treated of, which, in the second and third chapters 
of genesis, is a prominent feature ; and also the bible-fabled manna, 
and the woman jezebel. some one is to have power over nations, to 
rule them with a rod of iron, and to have the morning star given him 
into the bargain ; which fable strongly indicates that its com>poser would 
scarcely be sober enough, the next morning after she had written it, to 
rise in time to see the morning star. 

CHAPTER III. 

The key of david is treated of, and angels of the church in Philadel- 
phia, counsel is given to buy gold, and to hold fast to a crown, he 
that hath an ear to hear, let him hear, is twice stated, and hath been 
three times in the preceding chapter. 

CHAPTER TV. 

A door in heaven, and a voice like a trumpet, and throne, with one 
sitting on it, like jasper and a sardine-stone to look upon, and twenty- 
four elders seated, clothed in white, with gold crowns on then- heads, 
and seven lamps burning ; and before the throne was a sea of glass, 
and in the midst, and round it, were four beasts, full of eyes, behind 
and before ; each had six wings, and tht-y cried night and day unceas- 
ingly, holy, holy, lord god almighty ! then the twenty-four elders fell 
down and cast off their crowns, there is a similar story to the four 
beings with wings in the tenth chapter of ezekiel, with the addition of 



REVELATIONS. 365 

wheels, and their backs, hands, wings, and wheels all being full of eyes ; 
both fables manifestly showing their composer was unable to compose 
with reason. 

CHAPTER V. 

A throne, and a book with seven seals on its back, and a strong angel 
with a loud voice are all treated of, and that no man was able to open 
the book, to which the queen of the fable adds, nor to look therein, 
this is following up the same style of composition she used in her books 
of moses, and other parts of her bible ; as in numerous instances where 
her fancy led her to state, cities or people were to be burned, by com- 
mand of her bible heroes, she adds, after stating they shall be burned, 
— to make her writings tedious, and more curious than useful, — with 
fire, a lamb is represented to have had seven horns and seven eyes, 
and standing as if it had been slain ; and it took the book out of the 
right hand of him that sat upon the throne : then four beasts and twenty- 
four elders fell down, every one with harps and gold vials full of odours, 
and sung a new song, surely the twenty-eight musical songsters could 
not have chanted a more appropriate theme, than that the composer 
who set them their task was mad. the fabricator of the story states, 
there were more than a hundred thousand angels, beasts, and^ elders 
round the throne, and the four beasts said amen ; which is on a par 
with the queen's fabJe in the third chapter of genesis, where she repre- 
sents a serpent as talking ; all showing wine had made her think her- 
self so knowing, that she could make her subjects believe anything she 
wrote. 

CHAPTER VI. 

A gay old fellow is treated of, sitting on a white horse ; a crown was 
given him, and he went forth conquering, the queen of the fable other- 
wise show^s herself not yet able to compose with reason, by again 
stating that a beast spake, a red horse went out, and that a voice was 
heard in the midst of the beasts, saying, a measure of wheat for a penny, 
and three measures of barley for a penny,— see that thou hurt not the 
oil and the wine ; which part of the fable, taken in connection with 
the rest of it, indicates that its composer had drank too freely of wine, 
both before and after she did dine, the queen of the fable further states, 
a pale horse was seen, and the name of its rider was death, and hell 
followed after him ; and power was given to them to kill, with sword, 
hunger, and death, the fourth part of the earth, aided by the beasts of 



366 REVIEW OF 

the earth ; and white robes were given to every one of them ; and the 
sun became black, and the stars fell, and every mountain and island 
were moved out of their places ; and kings and people, both bond and 
free, hid themselves in dens, rocks and mountains, and called to them 
to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the lamb, for such 
crazy nonsense as this to be upheld so long as it hath been, as the word 
of an all-wise creator of all things, plainly shows that people have not 
properly exerted themselves to set wild and injurious delusions aside. 

CHAPTER VII. , 

Four angels, it is stated, were seen standing on the corners of the 
earth, but of late the earth hath been considered round, the four 
phantoms are represented to have held the winds from blowing ; but 
experience teaches all observing men that winds constantly move, one 
angel, it is stated, cried aloud to four others, and there were sealed 
144,000 israelites, and 72,000 others, besides a great multitude of all 
nations and tongues which could not be numbered ; and they stood 
before the throne and the lamb, clothed in white robes and with palms 
in their hands, as robes do not last long, it is well this fable hath not 
bewildered the minds of dealers in white clothes to use exertions to find 
Jacob's ladder, which the queen treated of, in the bible, as reaching up 
to her fabled heaven, where, she now says, such an incredible number 
wore white robes, all the angels, elders, and beasts, she states, fell 
on their faces and worshipped god. surely it would be more advanta- 
geous to mankind to devote their time and study to turn the realities 
of the planet they inhabit to better, and yet better advantage, from age 
to age, than to suffer their minds any longer to be led astray and become 
distracted with what they cannot know anything of, and which only 
leads the. mind to wdld, unsatisfactory imaginings and unnecessary dread, 
causing thousands to become a burthen to society and a misery to 
themselves. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

It is stated there was silence in heaven about half-an-hour, and seven 
angels had each a trumpet given them, and another angel had a golden 
censor, this is precisely the same senseless composition the queen 
formed her fables of in genesis, where, she states, god planted a sword 
in a garden, to keep the fabled tree of life (see chap, ii.), and in chap, 
vii. opened the windows of heaven ; thus showing, throughout the 
work she left for her chosen successor to publish ; which, it is acknow- 



REVELATIONS. 367 

ledged in the bible preface, he did with the confidence and resolution 
of a man, and that he also cherished and maintained men to teach and 
propagate it. the queen of the fable states, one angel sounded its 
trumpet, and hail and fire, mingled with blood, followed, and all grass 
was burned, and one-third of the trees ; a second angel sounded, and 
fire was cast into the sea, and a third part of it became blood, and a 
third part of its inhabitants died, well may it be said, when the wine 
is in the wit is out ; for if queen elizabeth had not been a great wine- 
bibber, she would not have been likely to have written so great a mass 
of inconsistency as the work it is acknowledged she left, a star, she 
states, fell on the third part of the rivers and fountains, burning like a 
lamp ; and the third part of the sun, moon, and stars were smitten, 
and an angel flew through the midst of heaven, crying aloud, woe, 
woe to the inhabitants of the earth, if the queen had given birth to 
some young princes, she would have been more usefully employed and 
better amused than in thus striving to terrify her subjects. 

CHAPTER IX; 

The key of a bottomless pit was given to an angel, who opened the 
fabled pit, and its smoke darkened the sun and air ; locusts came out of 
the smoke, to whom power was given as scorpions, to torment those 
men five months who had no* the seal of god in their foreheads, the 
locusts had faces like men, and shapes like horses prepared for battle, 
hair like women, and teeth like lions, and the angel of the bottomless 
pit was king over them ; and a golden altar, the queen of the fable 
states, was before god ; and angels were loosed and prepared to slay the 
third part of men ; and there were two hundred thousand thousand 
horsemen, who had breastplates of fire, and the heads of their horses 
were as the heads of lions, and fire issued out of their mouths, surely 
such fables ought to be immediately discountenanced and abandoned 
from use as reading lessons, or as being introduced and preached from 
as the word of any being superior to an inebriate. 

CHAPTER X. 

Another mighty angel, it is stated, came from heaven, with a face 
like the sun and feet as pillars of fire, with open book in hand ; it set 
one foot on the sea and another on the earth, and cried like the roaring 
of a lion ; and a voice from heaven said, seal up what the seven trumpets 
uttered, and write it not ; which fable only shows that the composer 



368 REVIEW OF 

of it felt conscious for a moment she had written too much incredible, 
wild nonsense, she staes, i took the book out of the angel's hand 
and ate it up, and my belly became bitter. 

' ■ CHAPTER XI. 

An angel commands~ that a holy city be trod under foot forty-two 
months, and says it will give power to its two witnesses, and they 
shall prophesy two hundred and sixty days, and shut heaven that it 
rain not in the days of their prophecy, and to turn waters into blood, 
and to smite earth with plagues as often as they will, nineteen verses 
are filled with similar composition, much of which is a repetition of the 
contents of former chapters. 

CHAPTER XII. 
It is stated, a woman appeared in heaven clothed with the sun, and 
with a crown of twelve stars on her head, and the moon under her 
feet, travailing in child-birth, in pain to be delivered, thus the queen, 
throughout her writings, hath interspersed tales of women travailing 
with child, and hath also inserted many stories about childless women 
mourning for want of a child ; and the probability is, that if she had 
been the mother of as many children as queen victoria bids fair to be, 
she would not have written any sui-k stories, nor any of the other un- 
reasonable fables she left for her successor to publish, she states, a 
great red dragon, with seven heads, all with crowns on, and ten horns, 
with his tail drawing a third part of the stars of heaven, stood before 
the woman that was ready to be delivered to devour her child, surely 
none but a confirmed inebriate would picture a place so incredibly 
wretchedly managed, or such disgraceful proceedings practised in it, 
that they had extolled as being miraculously and wonderfully delightful. 

CHAPTER XIII. ■ 

It is stated, a beast was seen to rise up out of the sea, having seven 
heads, and ten horns, and ten crowns, with feet like a bear and mouth 
like a lion, and yet it was like a leopard ; and the dragon gave it great 
authority and power, and all the world worshipped the dragon, and 
power was given to the beast to continue forty-two months, and it is 
declared, all that dwell on the earth shall worship him. a fable of 
similar composition is also in the seventh chapter of daniel ; both show- 
ing that the queen had the same wild imaginings troubling her mind 
while she wrote both the old and new testaments, in this fable it is 



REVELATIONS. 



369 



stated, a beast caused fire to come from heaven to earth in sight of men, 
and caused all, both great and small, rich and poor, free and bond, to 
receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead, and only allowed 
those who had the mark to buy and sell ; so, according to this said-to-be 
word of the lord, woe be to all merchants if such a lord ever catches 
them. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

A lamb, it is stated, was seen standing on a mount, and 144,000 with 
him, having his father's name written in their foreheads, the four 
beasts are also again treated of, and an angel with a sickle, and another 
angel having power over fire, something about a wine-press and drink- 
ing of wine is inserted ; the queen showing, from the eighth chapter of 
genesis to the present chapter, in numerous instances, fond recollection 
of wine ; which, beyond reasonable dispute, was the means of inspiring 
her with the wild flights of fancy, and the boldness to embody them 
in the work she left for her successor to publish. 

CHAPTER XV. 

It is stated, seven angels were seen, having the seven la^* plagues, 
and standing upon a sea of glass mingled with fire in the heaven, having 
harps, and singing the song of moecs, the servant of god, who, it may 
be seen, the composing queen represents as a murderer, in the second 
chapter of exodus, which is the first chapter in which she gives any 
account of her hero of the first five books of the bible being in exist- 
ence, although she had written fifty-one chapters under pretence of their 
being the writings of moses ; and in her last chapter of the five books 
she styles the books of moses, shows she was not sober enough yet to 
compose in a style that would make her statem.ents appear probable ; 
as in that chapter she represents moses to have given an account of 
his death and burial, and specifying a period that people mourned for 
him ; and in this fable the queen of it states that seven angels with 
plagues were seen clothed in white linen, girded with golden girdles ; 
and a beast gave each one a gold vial full of the wrath of god, and the 
heavenly temple was filled with smoke, so that no man could enter, 
surely, if people would read the bible, they would become convinced 
that it ought to be put out of use. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
It is stated, a great voice told seven angels to pour out of their vials 



370 REVIEW OF 

the wrath of god on the earth, and that they did so, and a noisome 
grievous sore fell on men, and the sea became as blood, and every soul 
therein died ; but of this pretence that the inhabitants of the deep have 
souls, the queen hath not any more made pretence, than she did that 
man had an invisible appendage or attendant, in the bible, power, she 
states, was given to the fourth angel to scorch men with fire, three 
spirits, like frogs, the queen states, came out of the dragon, beast, and 
prophet, to gather the kings of the world to the battle of that great 
day of the almighty ; to which the queen adds, behold i come as a 
thief ; blessed is he that keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked 
and his shame be seen, — and treats of a cup of wine. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

An angel, it is stated, talked about the judgment of a lewd woman, 
with whom kings had been intimate, and others she had caused to be- 
come drunk, the queen also states, a woman was seen sitting on a 
scarlet beast having seven heads and ten horns, and the woman was 
arrayed in scarlet and purple decked with gold, pearls, and precious 
stones, with a gold cup in her hand, and on her forehead was written, 
the mother of harlots, this disgraceful fable shows the queen's mind 
continued distracted with the remembrance of her fable in the seventh 
chapter of daniel, as well as with wine. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The iqueen again treats of kings committing fornication and living 
deliciously, and says, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no 
sorrow. 

CHAPTER XIX; 

The queen repeats some nonsense about twenty-four elders and four 
beasts falling down and worshipping god ; and the wife of the lamb 
had made herself ready, and was allowed to be arrayed in fine, white, 
clean linen, and heaven was opened, and a white horse was seen ; and 
the eyes of its rider were as a flame of fire, with many crowns on his 
head, and clothed in a vesture dipped in blood ; and armies followed 
him in heaven, arrayed like the wife of the lamb, and out of the mouth 
of the general commander, seated on his heavenly horse, went a sharp 
sword that he should smite nations with, and rule them with a rod of 
iron, and the fierceness of the wrath of almighty god ; and, it appears, 
the queen's wild imaginings, for the moment, led her to think it right 



REVELATIONS. 



371 



her subjects thus to affright, and let them know that in addition to the 
great show of the general already described, he had written on his 
vesture and thigh, king of kings and lord of lords, the queen also 
states, an angel was seen standing in the sun, crying aloud to all the 
fowls to gather themselves to the supper of the great god, that they 
might eat the flesh of kings and captains, these fowls are stated to be 
those that were flying in heaven, so the queen was probably suffici- 
ently inspired with wine to imagine a sufficient number of dead kings 
and captains were in the same fabled region for all the heavenly host of 
fowls to be fed on; and her phantom, under the title of angel, whom 
she represents as standing in the sun, she surely must have imagined 
was a miraculous fire-proof one. 

CHAPTER XX. 

The queen makes an absurd attempt to terrify her subjects, by stating 
that an angel was seen with the key of a bottomless pit and a great 
chain, and that it cast the devil into that fabulous pit ; and that the 
souls of them that were beheaded and had not worshipped the beast 
or its image, nor had received the mark of the beast on their foreheads, 
they lived and reigned with christ a thousand years, satan? she states, 
shall deceive the nations, and treats of her two fabW heroes, gog and 
magog, the two long-since slaughtered kings, who, she appears to have 
imagined, and strives to make her subjects believe, have risen from the 
dead, and are to gather people together, as the sand of the sea, to battle ; 
and they encompassed the camp of the saints and the beloved city ; and 
fire came down from god and devoured them ; and the devil, the beast, 
and the false prophet were cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, to 
be tormented for ever ; and also all those whose names were not written 
in the book of life ; and hell, death, and the sea gave up their dead ; 
and death and hell, the queen doth tell, were cast into the lake of fire ; 
which doth indicate that she must have partaken too freely of wine 
that was fiery strong, to help her along with such wild imaginings and 
the boldness to write them. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The queen states, the first heaven, earth, and sea were passed away, 
and a new heaven and earth were seen ; and a great voice was heard 
from heaven, saying, god will dwell with men, and there shall be no 
more death, neither sorrow nor pain, the term great voice the queen 
used in her books of moses, representing her hero of those books as 



372 REVIEW OF 

having received commands — which he was to give to the people — from 
her fabled lord, while it and moses were on a mount, which her fabled 
merciful lord forbade both people and beasts to touch on pain of death ^ 
representing moses repeating the commands to the people, after he had 
condescended to descend to them, and asking them if they did not hear 
the commands given with a great voice, repetition is made about the 
bride, the lamb's wife, and of a great city being seen descending out of 
heaven, with light like precious stones, and a great wall, and twelve 
gates, thus the queen, possessing abundance of precious stones and 
metals, hath treated of such articles from the first chapter but one of 
her work to the last but one ; and, to cause this fable to be impressive, 
doth state, an angel stood by each gate, and a measurer stood, with 
gold reed in hand, to measure the city, and its gates and walls, the 
walls, she states, were of jasper, and the city pure gold ; its foundation 
was garnished with all manner of precious stones, this fable appears 
to show that much grandeur and wine had driven the composing queen 
mad, as she hath stated much learning did paul. 

: CHAPTER XXII. 

It is stated, a river of water of life was seen proceeding out of the 
throne of god and the lamb, in the midst of the street of it. surely the 
queen of the fable could not have been aLle to know what she meant 
by writing so. she also states, the tree of life was on each side of the 
river ; which statement, also, doth show that she did not know or re- 
member what she had written in the second chapter of genesis, about 
her fabled tree of life being planted by an invisible gardener in the 
garden of eden, (in its midst,) which was the only tree of the kind 
pretended ever was created ; and now, for the queen to state this fabled 
tree was on each side of a river, that was in the midst of a street, in- 
stead of allowing it to remain in her fabled garden of eden, looks too 
wild for her to have fabricated while in a sober condition, the queen 
further states, there shall be no more curse, but the throne of god and 
of the lamb shall be in it ; and immediately represents her god and 
lamb as one being, saying, his servants shall serve him and se^ his 
face, and his name shall be on their foreheads, then it is represented 
that the servant, and their double master, god and lamb, are to reign 
forever, and that these sayings are faithful and true, a similar decla- 
ration is also stated in the nineteenth chapter, after nine absurd verses 
about twenty -four elders, four beasts, a lewd woman, a lamb and its 
bride, and their marriage ; adding, these are the true sayings of god, but 



REVELATIONS. 373 

proving nothing more than that the queen of the fable felt doubt of be- 
ing able to make her subjects believe the tales she had written, and 
that she was conscious of having fabricated much that the most credu- 
lous would discern was false, then, next, she attribues the stories to 
her man John, who, we must now suppose, hath again got his head on, 
as she had long since represented his head was cut off to please a pret- 
ty dancer, but now the queen represents John as declaring he had seen 
and heard these things, and fell down at the angel's feet which showed 
them, to worship it ; and the queen of the fable, just before closing the 
work she left, appears to have felt conscious she should soon be still, 
and concludes to let others be so too. she says, he that is unjust, let 
him be unjust still ; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still ; and he 
that is righteous, let him be righteous still ; and he that is holy let him 
be holy still : thus endeavoring to puzzle and stupefy the minds of all who 
were credulous enough to respect her fables, and showing her cruel un- 
relenting ruling passion strong to the end of the work she left for her 
chosen successor, the first king james of england, to publish ; which he 
did accordingl}'^, as is acknowledged in the preface of thousands of bi- 
bles that have been dedicated to him, as the principal mover of the 
work elizabeth left. 



[The composer of the bible gare no date to the pretended beginning of the 
earth, it should, of course, have been termed the first day of the year one, if it 
could have been known when its formation began; and in the absence of proof 
of any beginning, it is reasonable to decide that the earth never had a beginning, 
and that it hath ever existed in similar condition to its present state, allowing 
casual changes to parts by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, partial floods, and 
winds, suab a decision must be more reasonable than the baseless supposition 
that the immense bulk of the earth was made out of nothing ; and the writer of 
the world-creating fable haih shown she was not able to refrain from exposing 
her knowledge of the world being old, in her second chapter of Genesis, where 
she acknowledges good gold from bad was told, and treats of precious stones, 
it is manifestly inconsistent logic, to form a fable pretending to know an almighty 
wise power formed the earth, with its barriers of impassible mountains, and 
extensive, dismal, unhealthy swamps, and imperfect parts of earth, that have 
swallowed thousands of inhabitants of its own creating, according to the fable.] 



APPENDIX. 



Inconsistencies of the Bible. 

To persuade children and youths that they were horn in sin and shapen in ini- 
quity, and that man can do nothing of himself, and that hy grace and faith alone 
he is saved from everlasting torments, is, heyond reasonable dispute or denial, 
degrading the human species, and vastly contradictory to^the pretence that a power 
full of mercy and loving- kindness had created them; and can scarcely fail to 
have an injurious tendency on the minds, manners, and welfare of those who are 
led to believe such doctrine true ; as it must cause them to hope for invisible aid, 
instead of using suitable exertions to promote their own comfort, and the happi- 
ness of those dependant on them, and while the great stress is put on mere be- 
lief, — that believe people must, or be burned in a lake of fire and brimstone, where 
the fire is never quenched, and where the suflferer never dies and hath no reprieve, 
— those, of course, who are made by /ear this to believe, must view the duty of 
life as but of trifling importance in comparison to training and forcing themselves 
to believe in the unreasonable story of the only son of an invisible spirit being 
tortured to death by men in an ignominious manner, whose father is stated to 
have been well pleased with this only son ; and also represented as having al- 
mighty power, according to that trait of character, in connection to that of being 
loving kind, it possessed the power, in the first instance, to form the mind and 
disposition of every being it made or created to suit its own views, and could alter 
or check them at any time, to suit its own fancy ; or could instantly have de- 
stroyed all those who interfered with its beloved son ; and could have forgiven 
those who had displeased it, without suffering any cruelties to have been inflicted 
on any one. for, surely, nothing could be more irrational than the story now ex- 
tant, which hath been circulated at an incalculable expense to the community, 
principally by the use of two declarations of the greatest extremes, that the bold- 
est tormentors and oppressors of the human race could invent; although, every 
one, by exercise of reason, must know, that belief is not a voluntary act ; and that 
all are compelled to believe that which their judgment convinces them is true, 
and that they are unable to believe otherwise, but the mind, impressed with 
fear, or elated with hope, oxasionally becomes distracted, and yields respect to 
inconsistent fables ; and, in numerous instances, by such distraction, is driven to 
insanity, whichj^lunatic asylums bear sad evidence of in man y, countries. 



11 APPENDIX. 

On Modern Discoveries. 

Scientific men, who have been employed by various governments as geological 
surveyors, describing their discoveries, state, that the run of waters, in many in- 
stances, hath worn stone away to great extent in the course of long periods ; in 
two instances they have noticed, more than one hundred feet in depth, and state 
they have discovered the process to be still proceeding, and so slow as to have 
taken a period of time far beyond all chronology, the beds of the rivers toby and 
sugar-loaf have been worn into their present forms by the action of running water 
which must be a Imitted by all who carefully examine them ; and the period requi- 
site to wear away such a mass of stone must have been incalculably long, and 
far beyond all time that we have record of. the anount and extent of similar 
causes, creating and producing similar effects, at the present period, present aston- 
ishing proofs of the powers and operations of nature, and show the inaccuracy of 
the pretended knowledge of a period when all was nothing, and formed out of no- 
thing, as stated in the first chapter of the bible : to this it may reasonably be add- 
ed, that fable exposes the composer's intention of deceiving and confusing the 
minds of her subjects in the beginning of the work she left : the changes that 
have been discovered to have taken place in rocks, could only have been effected 
in the course of an incalculable length of time, as bituminous coal hath been dis- 
covered to be in various gradations, forming from beds of clay and mineral sub- 
stancesof many kinds, which are discovered in states of progressive change and con. 
dition, forming other subtances. the principle is founded on nature and its con- 
stancy, and forms the universal system of certain causes, producing invariably 
analagous effects to each other, which is constantly shown ; and every branch of 
science depends on this principle, and where this is given up, man is easily made 
a dupe, and all reasoning must be excluded, and at an end. but this conveys proof 
that great changes have been made, and are continually progressing; and as the 
science of geology advances, new discoveries are made of great changes having 
taken p'ace since new Orleans was built ; several leagues of the delta of the nile 
have advanced ; a mile at danville, and as much at to; and since the fifteenth 
century, the gain of the land by the po hath been eighteen miles for one hun- 
dred, along the coast, the delta extends into the interior one hundred and sev- 
enty miles, and along the coast three hundred, so as to form an area of twenty 
five thousand square miles. an immense alluvial deposit is forming at the 
mouth of the river amazon, most of which is swept by the gulf stream, and the 
waters of the amazon are not entirely mixed with the ocean ; and at the distance 
of three hundred miles from the coast, the quantity of sediment brought down an- 
nually by the ganges amounts to sixty times as much as the great pyramids of 
egypt : the extensive deposits, or removals, thus forming daily by river, only 
need consolidation to become rocks, which time will effect in a longer or shorter 
period, according to the weight of cover that may fall on them ; and astronomerg 
with their powerful magnifying telescopes, viewing thrviu^'h billions of miles, dis- 
cover no fabled heaven ; neither do navigators who have fai'eJ round the world 
discover the fabled lake of brimstone and fire, or any imaginary devil or angels. 



APPENDIX. , 111. 

Thomas Jeffersonh Opinion. 

In the]new^york sun, of nov. 18, 1846, it is stated, a reverend gentleman 
mentioned in the pulpit, on thanksgiving-day, that thomas jefFerson had declared 
his opinion that, in fifty years, Christianity would become defunct, and the hihie 
only known in this country as a curious old book ; and the editor remarks, that 
the probability is, this was spoken by another person and attributed to the illus- 
trious author of the declaration of independence.] but, in answer to that sug- 
gestion, it may reasonably be declared a well-known fact that thousands entertain 
mr. Jefferson's opinions respecting Christianity and the abandonment of the bible ; 
and every person who has read the bible, and who strives to be guided by reason, 
must be convinced that it was next to an impossibility for so talented a philan- 
thropist as president Jefferson to form a more favorable opinion on these subjects. 
his opinion would be honestly expressed, in order to aid in convincing those who 
had been deluded by stories preached from it, and who were not yet driven to in- 
sanity through meditating on what they were told about it. 

On Freedom of Speech and Opinion. 

One of the greatest hindrances to the advancement of truth and correct princi- 
ples is, the intolerance and persecution which persons are frequently subjected to 
who speak of such trammels of opinion, but the prevailing opinion of the 
present day is, that general education and science is gradually leadJ»g mankind 
to a higher destiny; that long- established errors are breaking: away, and truth is 
beginning to be established and respected in ihoir stead, but they who attempt 
to establish truth instead of fi^eion, need possess power and energy to expose 
delusions which have been propagated and supported by means of wealth obtained 
from the deluded ; who, in many instances, have shown great seMshness by 
keepino- large amounts of wealth until death, and leaving record of their ruling 
passion being strong in death, by their bequests to religious institutions; thus 
leaving record of their delusion and selfishness being encouraged in their minds to 
the close of life, and forming evidence that the comforts of mankind could be far 
further promoted by opinions being based on demonstrable truths, rather than 
from wild, unreasonable fables, of which no proof can be obtained that they are 
based on truth, and which lead the mind astray from the noble example set by 
the various elements continually aiding each other with their respective powers. 

Quotations from Judge HerteWs Address to the Society for the Promotion 

V of Mental Liberty. 

This talented, venerable philanthropist states, it is demonstrable that religion, 
by means of kingraft and priestcraft, is the principal source of all moral depra- 
vity, and that the erronious opinions of mankind have originated from the estab- 
lished modes of education by state and church authority; and credulity, he adds, 
is the first offspring of superstition ; and that there^are but few errors or vices 
which cannot be impressed on the human mind as serving the interest of reli- 



IV APPENDIX. 

gion, and that it cannot be denied, with semblance of truth, that kings, priests, 
and rulers, ever since records of them have been kept, have usurped power over 
their opinions as well as actions, that they might be enabled to educate people 
into belief of religious creeds, in order to hold them subservient ; and as an 
essential to their scheme, taught children, both old and young, to believe in the 
being of a god, who is jealous of other gods, who will cast its own offspring 
into a lake of fire, among devils, to burn lor ever, if it be only to show his power 
and glory, what could pervert and mislead the mind more than this? is it not by 
such education the powers of the mind have been overcome before maturity, and 
recklessness of the rights and happiness of man followed, and excluded sj^mpa- 
thy, justice, and kindness ? hence enmity and hostility were engendered, and 
religious intolerance and persecution followed, and deceivers have derived profit 
from their deluded fellow-beings ; and when in possession of power, inflict, in the 
most cruel manner torture and death on those who dissent from their pretended 
spirituality in accordance with the transactions imputed to their god, by which 
means they have ruled over their uninformed and superstitious fellow-beings, the 
judge asks, who excited and committed the massacres at paris, on saint bar- 
tholomew's-day ? who taught men to believe it was pleasing to god to have people 
destroyed, and that salvation and eternal happiness would be the reward of 
the murderers ? was it not kings and priests, under whose auspices the pious 
servants of the lord, so-called, who always superintend such transactions? and the 
holy inquizsUion, so-called, with its instruments of torture and death, proceeded 
from religion, ta^^gKt by authority of church and state power; and the burn- 
ings and other massacres that were j,ovpotrated uniformly at the auto dafe, by the 
same evil-trained spirits of such men, who were e^ico instrumental in persecuting 
those who honestly avowed their unbelief of their unreasonable doctrines, 
yet, notwithstanding the numberless proofs of this kind, a large portion of mankind, 
even in this free country, are yet so incredulously superstitious as to have faith in 
wild doctrines that have been established by the combination of rulers and 
priests, or fear to avow their honest conviction of its falseness, the judge re- 
marks, that great uumbers have been imposed upon by useless, senseless, and 
superstitious doctrines from early life to its close, and asks how^ mankind 
could have escaped the prevalent depravity while such causes exist; and adds, 
that while unprincipled and selfish politicial, ecclesiastical men have the di- 
rection of education, it cannot be otherwise; but this degraded condition, the 
judge prophecies, cannot last as long as the vindictive punishment which priests 
alarm the uninformed and credulous with, as being of eternal duration, and 
as having been decreed by a god full of mercy, and loving-kindness, and slow 
to anger, the increase of knowledge brings a hops that men will not long 
be influenced by bigotry and superstition, nor allow their offspring to be edu- 
cated by dictation formed to establish and impress such injurious principles^ 
many schoolmasters begin to exercise reason, and teach it; and their num- 
bers increase with the increase of knowledge and science ; and when the in. 
tolerant and fanatical bigots of the present day pass away,jthere will|be less en- 



APPENDIX. , V 

mity and hostility, because religion will be less regarded'; consequently, muchi 
more harmony, peace and happiness will naturally occupy the minds of all 
mankind, and pure morality will succeed the place of professions of religion, 
which will be spoken of as evidence on record of the ignorance and depravity 
of the age in which it had been taught and believed, priests will then be no 
more credited or employed, and the costly edifices that now aid their pride, 
will be devoted to more useful purposes, as certain as death, mankind have 
hitherto been taught the disgusting error, that to believe spiritual religion was 
the only means by which they could obtain everlasting happiness; and to 
prevent doubt of this absurdity, mankind were taught at early age to repudiate the 
use of their intellect, and to disregard reason, and to believe that they were natu- 
rally depraved ; which doctrine imputes great cruelty to the theologian god. 
proofs have been manifested that religion has caused more contentions, crimes, 
and cruelties than all other errors and impositions ; and the mass of absurdity called 
the holy bible, hath been imposed upon man by persons in authority, sword in 
hand, as the word of god, — a fabulous holy spirit, who miraculously revealed 
it to man ; which book contains numerous sacrifices of both beasts and human 
beings, without distinction or mercy for any age, sex, or condition, with pre- 
tence that they were commanded to be perpetrated by a god full of mercy and lov- 
ing kindness; and so priests taught the credulous, instead of striving to teach man- 
kind to turn their attention to manage the realities of the visible world to the best 
advantage they can, in order that their comforts might be increased through life. 
but while human beings are frightened into the belief that a. cruel god and a devil 
have power over them, and are taught to h^r.<,^<^ fallacious creeds, it must be im- 
possible for them to cease to fee ignorant, depraved, and immoral ; and it is yet 
seen that many who have discerned the assumed pretence of knowledge about in- 
visible spirits and regions is false, yet they have not moral courage to publicly de- 
clare theirconviction ; and while people contribute large sums to support the wrongs 
that oppress their reason, it will cause them to continue ignorant of their moral 
rights and mental powers. ; 

From the Boston Messenger of August 6th, 1845. 
In the winter of 1807, rev. s. spring, d. d.,of newbury-port, invited some other 
reverends, and some wealthy merchants, to meet at his house ; and conversed with 
the merchants, neither of whom were professors of religion, on the importance of 
devoting a portion of their rapidly increasing wealth to the glory of God, adding, 
to whom they were so largely indebted, the idea of founding a school for theolo- 
gical instructions was presented, and dr. spring proceeded to figure out what 
would be the expense, with supporting twelve students, and a professor, estimating 
the endowment at $50,000. two opulent merchants then asked each other what 
they would give ; one tells the other to name the amount he would contribute, and 
said, he would give the same; $10,000 was agreed to be given by each, the 
next day, dr. s. called on another rich merchant of salem, who was no more a 
professor of religion than the two merchants who had given $10,000 each, this 



▼!• APPENDIX. 

merchant also gave his obligation to pay $10,000 for the founding of the theolo- 
gical college, or seminary ; and eighteen months after, being called upon for the 
money, offered to pay interest for the eighteen months, and mr. adams, of andover, 
appropriated $20,000 for the purpose, and madam phillips was prepared to con- 
tribute to the same object, each party wanted to endow the professorship of the- 
ology, and appoint the professor ; and to end dispute, mr. abbott endowed the 
professorship, and nominated dr. wood to the post. mr. bartlett then endowed 
a professorship of sacred rhetoric, and engaged dr. griffin to take the chair, and 
erected a house for him at the cost of $20,000 ; and one building was erected 
mainly by the liberality of madam phillips ; and mr. bartlett erected a chapel, 
subsequently to that, rev. dr. woods wrote him a letter, setting forth the necessities 
of the seminary, stating, more rooms for students were needed, mr. bartlett did 
not answer this letter, but some time afterwards, mr. bartlett had bricks made, 
and another college erected ; and bequeathed, at his death, $50,000 to the semina- 
ry, after having appropriated at least $100,000 to the same object, and left $1 0,000 
to form a scholarship ; and miss waldo, of Worcester, left $7,000, as a fund for a 
library, there were but four students at any time in the first class, and two of 
these died in the seminary, and one did not pursue ministerial labors, but the 
institution hath since sent forth nine hundred and seventy-two young men to pro- 
claim the gospel of the son of god. thus it is shown what immense sums bold 
profeeaors of faith and belief can induce others to appropriate, to suit schemes 
they propose to get established, by making free use of words that man hath been 
taught by man to revei,*. 

The dying words of William C. Bell, as taken from the New York City papers 
of the first week of August, 1815. 

Tell the world that i die in perfect confidence in the principles that i have ad- 
vocated and published ; that i believe the religion of the day, the fashionable reli- 
gion, to be the most gigantic scheme of fraud an I oppression that it is possible to 
conceive of; and that it is well known to many of the clergy, it was contrived 
for the purpose of deceiving people, tell them that i believe in nothing above, or 
separate from nature, to this is added, in behalf of community, here is seen 
a man dying with perfect resignation to the laws of nature, expecting no other 
alternative than for his worn out remains to assist in making other forms, by the 
decomposing of his own ; such as aiding in the growth of vegetable substances, 
that would, in turn, promote the increase of animate beings ; agreeing pre- 
cisely with some of the last sentiments of bishop pope, a short period previous to 
his decease, where, in a small poem, he honestly acknowledges his conviction 
that human beings are mere bubbles on the sea of matter born ; that they rise and 
fall, and to the earth return; that all serve, and continue serving; that nothing 

stands alone ; 

And that thus the chain of nature holds on, 

And its end must ever be unknown ; 

As dying vegetables life do sustain, 

And life, by dissolving, vegetates again. 



APPENDIX. VU. 

Thus all forms that perish other forms supply ; 

By turns, all catch the vital spark, 

And by turns all, of course, die; 

And thus we are taught, by reason and decay. 

To welcome death, and calmly pass away.^ 

In both these instances we see the plain truth and strength of philosophy ; 
putting religion to the blush, disarming selfishness of its false hopes, and death of 
its terrors, mr. c. bell, it is publicly advertised, for thirty years exerted himself 
in defence of liberal principles, and made them respectable by his conduct, even 
among christians, it is also added, a few such men as wm. c. bell would soon 
teach mankind the difference between morality and religion ; for in him was blen- 
ded, in an high degree, morality, benevolence, charity, and energy of character, all 
of which ever beamed in his countenance ; and the maintainance of his liberal 
sentiments, to the last moments of his existence, hath set seal to his honesty of 
avowing them. 

From Baron D. Holhachh System of Nature. 
Baron d. holbach, it is stated, gave his numerous works for the benefit of 
mankind, and bestowed the most of his fortune in aiding the needy ; and by his 
biographers is termed one of the highest and most generally learned of the age 
among philosophers, and was never known to crouch to public opinion, nor to 
show any desire to make it known who was the author of any r^ ^^^ works 
theology, he contends, circulates an erroneous and injurioii« pxinciple, by declar- 
ing that the evident interest of indivi^ •'«■''-' ""^^ society are insufficient motives to 
induce man to lead a life of '-•jfality or goodness ; and they attempt to found it on 
a chimera, when cney say it flows from god ; for the ideas entertained of the ex- 
istence of such a spirit differs with the fancy of most persons from age to age. 
nature invites all to strive to be happy, and punishes vice ; religion commands 
all to love a terrible and capricious god. nature directs man to exercise his rea- 
son, and causes him to suffer disadvantage when he neglects to study it, and 
shows him various and numerous demonstrable truths; religion prohibits inves- 
tigation, and dooms those to eternal torture who doubt what it describes, although 
mankind have no evidence of the truth that it strives to enforce as truth, nature 
shows evil practices and immoral pursuits are injurious to our well-being; while 
religion offers pardon to the pests of society, who, in all probability, would have 
been better members had their education been based on morality, and the exercise 
of their natural sense and reason had been encouraged and promoted, instead of 
their capacities and minds being distracted with unreasonable fables, as most chil- 
dren's minds have hitherto been, filling them with wonder and amazement, and 
retarding useful education, religious opinions cannot found morality, being too 
inconsistent, arbitrary and unintelligible, morality must be based on experience, 
reason, and evident truths, and be stable and equal for all mankind, and on the 
sentiments necessarily inherent in nature, theologians found it on a chimera — a 
nothing ! and to expose superstition, and the ignorance and credulity on which it is 



▼111. APPENDIX, g 

based, and to ameliorate the condition of mankind, is the ardent] desire of every 
philantrophic mind, mankind are unhappy in proportion as they are deluded by 
imaginary systems of theology and their ceremonies ; the various systems of such 
a nature are but fables and falsehoods, imposed on mankind by visionary fanatics 
as historical truths, for unbelief of which millions have perished at the stake and 
in dungeons, and disgraceful persecutions have been instituted against others ; 
and such, he states, will be the case until the influence of priestcraft gets exposed 
by the light of knowledge and truth ; for, owing to the combined power and influ- 
ence of priests and kings, learned and liberal works have been destroyed, and the 
character of their writers assailed by relentless pious abuse, the pertinacity with 
which mankind cling to erroneous opinions imbibed in infancy, prevents the ex- 
pansion of mmd, and renders them slaves to fiction, and causes them to seek for 
happiness and misery in imaginary regions, instead of directing their thoughts to 
the real objects connected with the comforts of hfe ; and they dare not cultivate 
reason, because they have been taught it was criminal : and while a portion of 
mankind disdain the study of nature, which is the only source to arrive at truth, 
the most important duty of those who discern this evil, is to employ means, founded 
on the immutable operations of nature, to expose and counteract such delusions ; 
that reason may be restored to the deluded, by which means man may get con- 
vinced of the injurious eflfects disgraceful superstition hath enchained him with, 
and which hath too often usurped homage by treacherously covering itself with 
the mask ol vitiTth, which can wound none but those whose power and influence 
are built on the ignoro.«.oo which they have contrived to involve the mind of man. 
in. to fluch education must be auii\.t*wa those religious terrors which have 
caused many minds to become distracted, and y-aoi. r,i,jiibers to lose all the 
powers of reason, and become burdens to society for the remainder of their 
lives ; which lunatic asylums, in all countries where such doctrines have been 
enforced on people, show sad evidence 6f ; and to such erroneous education must 
be attributed those inveterate hatreds, barbarous persecutions and massacres which, 
under pretext of serving the interest of imaginarj* spirits and regions, the earth 
has been made the theatre of. mankind will jilways deceive themselves when 
they abandon experience and follow imaginary systems; for as man is the 
work of nature, he is submitted to its laws, and cannot evade them ; and 
when he attempts it, necessity compels him to submit to its immutable opera- 
tions, and the beings he pictures in imagination difierent from nature, are al- 
ways chimeras, formed in his mind after the model of natural real objects, 
the existence of which he hath had ocular proof of ; as there cannot be any 
thing different from those things which have always been known to exist 
naturally, as nature includes all; and all that man is, or ever can be, is no- 
thing more than what universal nature hath made him. but error, con- 
secrated by religious enthusiasm, produces ignorance and uncertainty in the 
minds of mankind in regard to their clearest evident duties, and makes vast 
numbers degraded captives, instead of founding their morals on the happiness 
and welfare of each other, by which all might become rational and happy beings ; 



APPENDIX. IX. 

but while man yields the guidance of his mind and actions to those interested in 
deceiving him, he must continue ignorant of nature, which is equal in operations, 
both when it produces and destroys ; and man, by neg;]ect of studying nature, and 
suffering his mind to be occupied with marvellous fables, hath become inactive, 
suffering himself to be led by precedent, rather than examine and study to find 
truth by experience and observation, thus hath man allowed imaginary sys- 
tems adoration and respect, by passing conjectures, from age to age, for re- 
alities, let us return to the exercise of reason, which intere.sted error hath caused 
us to neglect ; let us attentively examine the visible world, the universe, that 
vast assemblage of all realities, which offers to our contemplation nothing but 
continued causes and effects, each being having the power of producing, and every 
thing motion ; even those that have the appearance of repose, those who view 
all natural things uninfluenced by prejudice, get convinced that all act by their own 
powers, and need no mysterious aid; as when different bodies are mixed, mo- 
tion is caused or engendered, and in many cases produces surprising effects, 
such as filings of iron, sulphur, and water produce combustion, and damped flour 
will produce living insects; thus showing inanimate matter can pass into life, 
the generation of motion can also be seen in effects caused by mixture of 
fire, air, and water, as they naturally cause the most striking phenomena, to these 
are to be ascribed the effects of thunder, eruptions of volcanoes, earthquakes, &c. ; 
in fact, the most terrible effects are caused by the combination of matter that 
hath opposite qualities, as gunpowder and flame; which proves in^^^'^stably 
that motion is produced in matter by its own properties; an'^ iDose who pay 
thorough attention to what passes, have no op"-*-'^" to seek out of nature for 
a generating or movino- cau""- ^^°^^ ^^*^ suppose a cause existed previous 
to matter (or po.«^^' ^"'-'r to it,) are under the necessity, also, to suppose this cause 
produced all motion by which matter is agitated, in giving it existence, this al- 
lows matter could begin to exist, which hath not been demonstrated by any 
thing like proof; for to create or produce from nothing presents no sense; 
and as all are sustained by the productions of the earth, no one could ever 
have known of its origin or beginning, as pretended to be known by the author of 
the book of genesi.-*, even if it were possible that such an immense bulk as the 
earth could have been made from nothing ; and it ' is reasonable to decide 
that it and other matter always existed; and, also, that it ever had motion, 
but man, in addition to the unreasonable conjecture that the world had a be- 
ginning, hath added to that the supposition that he is composed, in part, of 
something that is beyond his art to discover, and altogether of two distinct 
natures, one actina; for the body, and being accountable for its thoughts and 
actions, and to be punished everlastingly for the body's unbelief of a fable, 
which is next to an impossibility for the mind of any reasonable person to believe, 
but nature shows man that he is altogether a material being, and a production of 
nature, like all other beings; for what befallelh the one befalleth all; and it is 
clear that those who suppose that man hath an immaterial, inconceivable some- 
thing different from his body, have done nothing more than imagined a negative 



X. APPENDIX. 

quality, of which they have no correct ideas, and nothing to form any of, as mat- 
ter alone is capable of acting on our senses; and man has nothing appertain- 
ing to him but what is submitted to the operations of nature, theology, by as- 
cribing to a god_. incompatible and contradictory quailities, makes it neither re- 
concilable to sense or reason, if it be infinitely good, why fear it? if infi- 
nitely wise, why interest ourselves about our fate ? if omniscient, why tell it our 
wants, or trouble it with our prayers .' if every where, why erect costly temples to 
it, especially if it forbids having a tool lifted on the stones that form the altars built 
to it, and the forming of steps to go up to them ? if it be owner of all things, it 
must be useless and silly'to oifer it what belongs to it, or waste any part by burning 
sacrifices to honor it! it is equally unreasonable to declare it will punish 
beings of its own creation, while it is also stated the creative power possesses 
all might, and directs and does as it pleases with all ; for cruelty to beings of its 
own make and under its control, is full contradiction given to it as being full 
of mercy, loving-kindness, and slowness to anger, this learned and benevolent 
author, d. holbach, states that an atheist is the man who brings others back to rea- 
son, by destroying prejudices and delusions that are injurious, and which prevent 
peace of mind and happiness; but theologians contend that it is madness to 
prefer the known to the unknown, or to consult the evidence of our senses; 
and many sophists confess their ignorance [of the god they announce, while the 
conduct of atheists is regulated by what reason and virtue prescribe, it is true 
that the kninan mind hath been dazzled by enthusiasm, and the progress of error 
hath been so gb^t, that but few possess courage to set such delusions aside 
and search for truth, an n^.\..;^f ^joes not believe in the existence of a god, 
neither can any person be certain of the exisici.,.^ ^f ^^^y inconceivable being ; 
and those who profess to believe in the existence of such, cau t^ye no other idea. 
about it than what hath been impressed on their minds by men, avowedly 
comprehending nothing of it themselves. 

From the New York Tribune^ May 15, 1846. 

At the meeting of the american bible society in the tabernacle, broadway, it 
was stated, the late governor smith, who had been president of the society, loved 
the bible ! the treasurer reported, by j. hyde, that their receipts had been, for 
the last year, $197,773 37, and that $5,372 04 were now on hand, the corres- 
ponding secretary read, from the manager's report, that, of the nineteen oiEcers 
first appointed, not one is now living, by this it is seen, the work they proclaim 
so wonderfully pious does not prolong the lives of such professors to a greater 
length than those of men who live soberly and act prudently, without professing 
to support the propagation of the bible or its doctrines, but four of the thirty- 
six managers, it is stated, are now living, by a new enactment of the board, the 
fiscal year, now and afte'*wards, ends on the last of March instead of the last of 
April as heretofore, which shortens last year one month, had the receipts of 
april been included, it is stated, the amount would have exceeded $200,000, 
which is, beyond doubt, an estimate safely within the average monthly acknow- 



U APPENDIX. XI. 

ledged receipts, as this statement allows only $2,227, when the average monthly 
collections were $18,000, within a trifle, the legacies of the year are stated to he 
much larger in amount than usual, mr. adams said, the report of the society 
showed a rare increase in its funds ; and that they would never give up till they 
had expanded its charities all over the world this increase, he said, showed that 
the mountains were dropping sweet wine and the hills were melting : this is what 
might be expected from the character of the book we are circulating ; — divine 
from the first verse to the closing of the apocalypse, its divine character sustained 
by miracles, and prophecies, and undfuiable chronology, and an eternal harmony 
in which no heresy can be found, he then asks, who hath heard of such another 
book, the author god himself, it would, certainly have been quite as honest if 
mr. adams had spoken of what he actually had knowledge of. the bible con- 
tained, he said, the promises and the way of life or death eternal, but the story 
in the bible, oft told to fabled men of old, that when man dielh he goeth down to 
the grave and riseth no more, backed by another, that man is no other, as it re- 
spects futurity, than the rest of breathing beings ; that they are all of one breath; 
and that what befalleth one befalleth another; thai they are all from the dust, 
and all return to it; and that man hath no pre-eminence, the world, mr. adams 
declares, is ripe for an evangelical church ; the god of heaven is setting up a 
great spiritual kingdom ; and that all romish blustering against the bible society 
is like the nibbling of mice at an archangel's wing, it is by no means likely mr. 
adams ever knew any angel, either with wings or without, unless ^^ considered 
his first love an angel: but the reverend gentleman, bevo»'^ doubt, knew per- 
fectly well that good sweet wine mii^J^* i.«r— ^^dfrom a mountain of $200,000, 
and many other good t^-'n^ ^^ ^^^ visible world,— qujte enough to keep up a 
good flow of iTiifrits for treasurers of funds and collectors of incomes from lega- 
cies, some discrepancy between the treasurer's report and that of the executive 
was remarked by one or two of the members, but it was allowed to drop infor- 
mally ; and it is shown, the treasurer's report was not then conveniently at hand, 
and the report w^s not read by him. this is a general case ; when men have 
possession of plenty of wealth they require plenty of servants. 



In the new york sun, of november 7, 1845, doctor rees, the superintendent of 
public schools, states, that he will relinquish all proceedings for the maintainance 
of his personal rights, so soon as, by any authority, he can be satisfied that the 
hible will no longer be banished from the schools ; thus evidently insinuating to 
the world, that the teachers of the public schools are invading his personal rights, 
and assuming the right to coerce those gentlemen who have shown they felt too 
much interested in the welfare of their scholars than to be willing to rob them of 
their youthful years, by lumbering and puzzling their minds with such a mass of 
inconsistency and indecency as is contained in the bible and testament ; which 
hath_ been noticed by many thousand persons of late years, since a large portion 



XU. APPENDIX, 



of mankind have set such delusions aside, and paid attention to the study of 
useful arts and sciences, by which important change many valuable inventions 
have been brought into practical operation, to the great accommodation and com- 
fort of the public. 



It can only be fairly accounted for, why the contents of the bible and testament 
have been so long supposed to be the word of a superior power to man, or that it 
was first written by men inspired by a supposed invisible spirit, when the bible 
preface hath, from the first introduction of that book, contained strong circumstan- 
tial proof that a blacksmith wrote the preface, and dedicatory address to king 
James the first of england, at the time the writings that his predecessor, queen 
elizabeth, left, were first printed in the year 1539, and dedicated to king james as 
their principal mover and author; and who the self-styled translators and intro-: 
ducers of the work praise, for his manly confidence and resolution, for publishing 
the work eJizabeth had left, and for maintaining the teachers thereof, and they 
tell him works of this sort meet with censure ; on which account, they humbly 
crave his patronage and powerful protection, all of which is to be found in thou- 
sands of bibles, at the present time, although most bibles that have been printed 
within the last forty years, are without these acknowledgments of its origin, the 
dedicatory address being omitted, and people cannot spare time to examine the 
work, cuuc^oquently but few know it as well as those who live by preaching it j 
and who have, ±ro.. j^s first introduction, seen it was necessary to form their ser- 
mons from selected verses, a« .w, whole chapter, in most instances, would show 
absurd, inconsistent composition, and many ot vn^^ ^y^jg indecency, notwith- 
standing these imperfections, the work was translated into J^rtx.^h in 1552. 
i In the catholic bibles acknowledgment is to be found, that the council of trent 
officiated to have the bible established as a standard work to be preached in 
churches, they publicly declared it to be contrary to the precepts of the church 
for people in general to read the bible, and also passed a decree that it should 
only be read by persons lawfully ordained, or otherwise under the directions of 
pastors and spiritual guides ; thus recording, they discerned the bible could not 
be respected if its contents were generally known ; and the statements of ancient 
men of renown, in the same book, respecting the character treated of in the testa- 
ment, under the title of jesus, shows, in a clear manner, that they knew of no such 
a personage, and that the character is fictitious, as they differ 3200 years in their 
statements between the different periods they state he was born in and that of his 
death ; one of the company declares it to be totally impossible to obtain any exact 
date with respect to either the birth or death of jesus ; thus plainly acknowledg- 
ing that no such described person was known, by which it is shown, the fables 
respecting such a character were made from imagination ; and the story in 6th 
of ezra, that people were commanded to pray for the life of the king and his sons^ 
and bring various animals for burnt offerings, according to the appointment of the 
priest, manifestly showeth the composer to have been a person living in indolence 



APPENDIX. Xm. 

and luxury, who felt interested in having rulers adored, and their aids, the priests, 
■we'l fed and respected ; and the general theme throughout the bible, pretending 
that numerous kings had reigned in ancient times over people, in a more arbitrary 
and cruel manner, and were supported in greater extravagance than the govern- 
ment of elizabeth, appears to have been composed for the purpose of making her 
subjects submit to their burdens; and the long details of fabled kings, judges, 
priests, and other high functionaries, all corroborate to prove the composer thought 
it all right that others should toil, and for them fight. 

If a few peaceable, honest enthusiasts find consolation in their religious ideas, 
there are many more bigoted in their suppositions, unhappy during life; by the 
means of ill-founded dread of the imaginary powers they are led to believe some\ 
invisible spirit hath to inflict them with eternal sufferings ; and everything proves 
that belief in the doctrines of the testament has the strongest influence to torment 
mankind, and render them unhappy, by inflaming the mind and passions without 
restraining them, only in those persons whose temperament is too feeble to propel 
them to acts of violence or injustice ; and if mortals are only formed to tremble and 
groan in the world they inhabit ; it does not appear probable the invisible power 
that is pretended made and left them to suffer while they were alive, will make 
them more happy after they are worn out with toil and care, but morality is not 
of that nature, for it shows itself always the same; founded on usefulness and 
justice, and on the duties each owe to all others, these self-evident principles, 
drawn from nature, confined by constant experience, and appr'""*^^ "^ reason, 
build a system for the conduct of all, free from an vn'''---''/ ^^ applying to any 
part of theology, or confusing the rv^--^^-' "J^" about imaginary law- givers, spirits, 
or regions, or a supnn^--' Jivinity, whose pretended great power and good quali- 
ties are annihilated by the dangerous and cruel caprices that are frequently attri- 
buted to it. but it is always dangerous to connect fiction with truth, or enthusi- 
asm with reason ; for while this is permitted and respected, theologians will endea- 
vor to make others believe mankind would not be moral without being re.<=itrained 
by the threats of burning human beings for ever, as held forth in the testament. 
but experience hath long shown, that many good men have been known, that paid 
no attention to any kind of religion ; and certainly there are sufficient inducements 
ever in view, to cause people to act with propriety and morality, provided the 
reflection of these was not overshadowed by the farcical pretence that by belief 
and faith human beings are saved from everlasting burning, and conveyed to 
realms of everlasting bliss, surely, if the tale could be fulfilled, there would come 
a time when paople would be too close together to make their situation blissful. 
but to state that man cannot do any good of himself, and preach and uphold this 
doctrine, is certainly the same as declaring man cannot discern vice from virtue; 
and it would not be any more unreasonable to pretend that man could not know 
when it was proper to take food, but he who is not willing to acquiesce in the 
belief of an invisible ruler, cannot doubt his own existence, and his' mode of 
feeling and judging, nor the existence of any being or thing that he hath demon- 
stration of. this knowledge, of course, will enable him to discern between good 



XIV. APPENDIX. 

and evil, and enable him to discover what pleases others, and that friendly aid and 
kind actions towards others will be the only sure mode by which he can reason- 
ably expect the'same friencship from them ; in short, every man enjoying the 
faculty of making true experience, need only conterrjplate himself, in order to re- 
mind him of the duties he owes to others, as his own feelings and desires will be 
a much better guide than all the information he can obtain from any invisible 
agent ; for a moderate observer must see, that to gain the good will of his fellow 
beings, and to feel himself happy in their society, he must act in an agreeable 
manner toward them ; and that if he puts this theory into practice, he will gene- 
rally be rewarded for his conduct by happiness within himself, and by kindness 
from others ; and if he acts contrary, his own feeliijgs will naturally torment him, 
and other persons despise him. an unjust man rarely troubles his mind about any 
invisible ruler, or the distant rewards or punishments of such an invisible power 
that priests of theology treat of: but nature instructs man to take care of himself, 
and provide himself with all necessary comforts from its productions ; while the- 
ology teaches man to love and fear an unknown or a supposed spirit, nature 
directs man to consult reason, and take it for his guide throughout his whole 
career; while religion leads him to believe that reason is a treacherous and dan- 
gerous guide, and that believe he must, or else be cursed, nature invites man to 
respect and admire all that is real and useful ; religion is devoid of the liberality 
of allowing mankind to examine or discover what is most beneficial for them, and 
will not anv.,v them to doubt the greatest inconsistencies imaginable. 
'^ The catholic eaic.^^ ^f the bible contains a decree for hiding the general reading 
of the work, and allows it om^ <. y,^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ tj^e instruction of pastors, and 
other religious guides ; and the edition shows pmuAy ^^at it hath been compiled 
from the king james bible, the stories in both books being in o«J>^tance and mean- 
ing the same, with trifling variations in some words, and in the titles of some of 
the books, and the addition of thirty-one chapters of maccabees, which were left 
out of the king james bible, they being principally repetitions of various parts of 
the king james bible, with a few additional gross absurdities, (see seventh chap- 
ter of the second book of maccabees ; such as statements of horsemen having 
been seen reining in the air, in gilded raiment, armed with spears, and horses set 
in ranks running against each other ; and a multitude of men in helmets with 
drawn swords; and cutting of darts, and glittering of golden armour, and harness 
of all sorts, command was given, it is stated, for the soldiers to kill people in 
their houses, and that slaughter was made of eighty thousand women, virgins, 
and children, and forty thousand taken prisoners and sold, another prince is also 
stated to have been sent with an army of twenty-two thousand men to kill all 
that were of perfect age, and to sell the women and younger sort ; he also slew 
all who came to look on. but judas maccabeus withdrew into a desert mountain* 
and lived on herbs, among wild beasts, with his company, the sixth and seventh 
chapters of the second book represent that human beings chose to sufier death 
rather than eat pork, and that seven men were put to excruiciating torment, one 
at a time, in sight of the others, who all shared the fate of having their tongues 



APPENDIX. XV. 

cut out, and their fingers and toes chopped ofl^ and their bodies beaten and tormen 
ted ; and while yet alive they were fried in a pan ; and when each one had been 
thus murdered, with the skin of their heads being also torn off, the next one was 
brought to the slaughter, and was asked if he would eat pork before being pun- 
ished ; all refuse and all are tortured to death : and lastly, the mother of the 
seven men so destroyed was consumed, at the conclusion of the story, the com- 
poser records proof that she had become rational for a moment, by stating that 
enough hath now been said of the excessive cruelties, any reader of the mac- 
cabees may easily discern that they have been composed by the same distracted 
mind that composed the books under the various titles that form the king james 
bible ; and that the extracts here stated are a fair specimen of the two books, 
the last of the catholic bible, contains seventy-two books, that are stated 
to have been written by divine inspiration, by the authors whose names they 
bear, or by other persons, this is an undeniable confession that it was not 
intended to let it be known who wrote the mass, or any part thereof ; yet the 
composer boldly states, again, that the whole compilation was of divine authority, 
and complains of part having been turned to ridicule; and as it respects the 
period when the books were w^ritten, it is clearly evident that suitable manage- 
ment hath been practised to keep that a mystery ; for, as far back as the assem- 
bling of the council of trent, one statement made a doubt whether it was 
written before or after the birth of christ ; and in the decree of the council of 
trent, some fixed this birth in the year 4000 ; one man, by the nam^ '-'^ nahasson, 
advances this birth to 3740 ; alphonsus postpones it to th" Y^^^ ^^ the world 
6984 ; pezron places the death of christ a* «a^<^ . nnaJly, the composer concludes 
that absolute certainlv rs*-"^"^ ^^ ascertained ; all of which shows in a clear man- 
ner, that no -.-.i-ners on these subjects knew any truth or reality of the statements 
they propogated ; and the decree of the council of trent plainly shows that it w^as 
intended to keep the origin of the bible a secret, for which plan abundant reason 
must have existed ; and also for using the pretence that the bible lay dormant 
beyond the recollection and chronology of the then existing generation ; or other- 
wise, they would have made declarations of not knowing the characters treated 
off in the bible, such as moses, joshua, abraham, &c., &c., the truth being 
invariably avoided where deception is intended to be imposed, of course 
true information must have been kept entirely from the people while 
attempts were made to frighten them into respect for absurd and false doctrines, 
and to have informed people when the bible was composed by a person of wild 
imasfination and distracted mind; which appears to be the case on examination of 
the work, as its principle theme is a representation that kings, princes, and priests 
were sumptuously provided for and adored by the people, and the people were 
their humble servants, and were directed to pray for the life of the king and his 
sons; to enforce such decrees it, of course, was necessary to keep the people un- 
informed, that they might be held tributary to kings and rulers. 



XVI. APPENDIX. 

How muchmore beneficial it hath, at all times, proved to mankind, that atten- 
tion and study on those things which appertain to the support and comfort of 
life are, than to allow their minds to be occupied with what Pome have persuaded 
them to imagine may occur after human beings become inanimate substances ; 
for reflection on such suppositions, instead of being advantageous to the dead, 
has, in thousands of instances, proved to be of serious injury to the living, — 
first, by retarding children and scholars from obtainjng useful information, which 
it is necessary they should acquire to aid them in their concerns of lile. and 
even those whose memories and capacities enable them to acquire a tolerably 
good education, in defiance of the store of marvellous, unmeaning lumber imposed 
upon them by teachers and preachers, who are interested in propagating the doc- 
trines contained in the books called the sacred scriptures, would, beyond doubt, 
have learned all that was true and useful for them to know in less than half the 
period they had devoted to education, had they been troubled with nothing but 
what was useful; for it is well known that the minds of those children who 
have the unnatural and unrereasonable fables of the bible and testament, together 
with catechisms composed from those books, palmed on them as lessons, become 
confused and bewildered in mind from the amazement produced by such tasks, 
it is also well known that thousands have been driven to insanity by meditating 
on the wild fables and dismal threats contained in those fabulous books, and 
surely nothing would be more certain to improve the intellect, manners, and 
morals oi society, than to introduce lessons among the rising generation, and 
lectures among b^^^^Qly i^ general, advocating the importance of truth, honesty, 
kindness, usefulness, ana t.5....,v,ie behaviour,— putting all hearers in mind of 
the advantages such a course of conduct wouia v^ ^.^ ^^iem through their animate 
existence; as all could be convinced of the truth of such aoL,trir,f>^ ^^jj but few 
would be found to disrespect it ; while doctrines that are improbable and unrea- 
sonable disgust thousands, and can only be continued by the means of liberal 
subscriptions supporting the propagators of them, even the bold, illiterate mor- 
mon prophet, joe smith, managed to delude about 20,000 persons; and, springing 
up from well-digging, got possession of much wealth, and, with a few others, 
abstracted from people an amount sufficient to erect an enormous temple, miller, 
also, of world-burning notoriety, soon after his alarmiug mode of preaching, was 
able to settle himself and his family on valuable real estate, while many of his 
terrified hearers have become inmates of lunatic asylums and a burthen tosocieiy. 
many of these deluded people were from intelligent families, it is plain to be 
seen that the heroes treated of in the books called holy are as much imsiginary 
creations, having had an existence only in the mind of the author, as the charac- 
ters created by novel-writers and dramatists of the present day. 



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